A friend from my gun club made a trip to RSA and is having some mounts done by Ace Taxidermy in Bela Bela in the Limpopo region. She recently received an invoice which includes a $450 VET fee. It's been a long time since I had taxidermy work done in RSA and was wondering if this is a legitimate charge. Sounds kind of fishy to me.

All trophies exiting SA have to be inspected by a vet and a vet clearance certificate issued.

What the average cost of that is, I don't know.

Vet certificate is required.What they don't tell you is the vet. clears several hunters trophies at a time for one fee. Your taxidermist's then bills each hunter "His" Vet clearance fee to each hunter. This is just a another great African way to make a fast buck! You should voice your displease to your Outfitter.

Robert,

I think you'll find that the vet is employed by the Government and they pay him per consignement.

I have to say that US$450 per consignment seems excessive and would suggest you do some research on Government websites etc to see if it's correct. - Alternatively, just e-mail a few SA taxidermists and ask what they charge.

My last two invoices from Limpopo Taxidermists only show a USD135 fee for "documentation and export fee." Now there may be fees figured into the price of each mount, but I doubt it.

Thanks for the info guys. I'll pass it on to the lady who is having the mounts done. If anyone has any more info. please keep the messages coming.

I wrote to the Professional Hunters' Association of South Africa with questions concerning the veterinary clearance of raw trophies in South Africa. Here is the reply

1 VETERINARIANS ARE GOVERMENT EMPLOYEES

2 How do Vets charge for their services? Is their a set government fee ?
EVERY VETERINARY DOCUMENT IMPORT/EXPORT COSTS R60 AND IS ISSUED PER PERSON. THIS IS A REGULATION OF THE GOVERNMENT AND THE COST MAY VARY FROM PROVINCE TO PROVINCE. WHETHER THEY DO ONE OR SIX CONSIGNMENTS IT WILL COST YOU R60 PER CLIENT. THEY CANNOT INFLATE THE CHARGE AS THIS CHARGE IS SPECIFIED BY THE GOVERNMENT. HOPE THIS ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.

3 Does the vet issue a legal document or Invoice explaining the fees, Is the client / hunter untiled to see this document?
THIS FEE IS A GOVERNMENT FEE AND THE STATE VETS WILL CONFIRM THIS IN WRITING

4 Is it legal to inflate the fee charged by the Vet? NO

Robert - Thanks for taking the time to get to the bottom of this situation. I'll pass on this info. to the lady who was billed for this fee. It's a shame to see someone taken advantage of this by an unscrupulous taxidermist in Africa.