and then just shipped straight to your door as finished a product?

After my PG hunt in Namibia, I had European mounts created and hides tanned in Namibia. It worked out very well for me. They don't get shipped to your door! They still have to go through Customs, and everyone else. I used an agent, after getting advice from this forum. Cost a few bucks extra, but again, it worked out well for me. I drove up to Atlanta airport to pick the stuff up.
Peter.

if yiou just want the skiulls and flat skins , thats fine , however for mounting its better to ahve the skins tanmned here , the priocess used here leaves the skin a lot less rubbery and more pliable , it rehydrates better and the result is that your taxidermist is able to better recreate the finer details of your animals than with a skibn tanned in africa ...

that said , elephant hide for use making curios etc needs to be tanned in africa ...

I'm not sure there is a tannery or taxidermist in Dar any more, in fact I'm pretty sure there isn't - might be one in Arusha though....

However without meaning to cause offense to Ivan or anyone else, I have to disagree with him. - I think It's rubbish to suggest that the standard of tanning or taxidermy in one continent is better than another continent. There are good and bad taxidermists and tanneries in every part of the world, the chemical processes work the same way on all continents, standards/quality of chemicals etc and taxidermy supplies are readily available everywhere (thanks largely to the internet), and skill of the individual taxidermist is exactly that, no matter where he or she lives.

As to the issue of Elephant hide, as far as I'm aware, there is no regulation that says it must be tanned in Africa and I know of plenty of hunters who have imported raw salted & dipped Elephant skin into their home countries and the quality of the end product of Elephant hide depends on the quality of the tanning plant and how well it has been shaved to the required thickness....... skin shaving machines also occur on all continents.

When I asked Adam about this very subject he said we could do Europeans but he didn't recommend it as our folks are not taxidermists and there was no dependable professional alternative.

Mark

8 or 10 yrs ago there was an Italian Taxidermy shop in Arusha that did decent work. He has since left but his local workers have c

ontinued working out of their little shop. Basic taxidermy stuff such as european or cape mounts are actually very decently done and prices....negotiable

Having said that, they are limited to the forms they have so complicated or non-standard poses might not turn out well through them. I was not too excited about their full mounts but I am having my Namibian trophies done there....all cape mounts

I don't mean no disrespect but you are best off not having your skins to be mounted tanned in Africa. Flat skins or rugs maybe but be careful.

Im currently redoing an african collection of european mounts done over there. The work was substandard, the skulls were not degreased and all 12 pieces need to be redone. So the client is paying to have them done twice.

Bring your stuff home.

Hugh

At the risk of hijacking the thread, this one comes up from time to time. It's utterly ridiculous to suggest that there are no good taxidermists in Africa and all American taxidermists are god's gift....... There are good and bad taxidermists everywhere. no matter where in the world a tannery or studio is, the chemical processes themselves work the same way and thanks to the internet, quality products such as eyes etc are available worldwide.

All one has to do to see both good and bad taxidermy from both continents is to do a search on this forum or on the taxidermy or trophy room pics forums on this site.

An excellent example of both good and bad taxidermy can be found by viewing the link below. Some of the work makes the lions look dreadful, others look great.
https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3421043/m/255106575

Cm'on guys, don't try to advance your self by knocking the opposition, do it by showing us how good your own work is...... to do otherwise is unprofessional.