I need some advice

I just received an e-mail confirming payment for my taxidermy from a summer 2004 trip to RSA with my son and brother. The good news is that my trophies should be stateside soon. The bad news is that the taxidermist (Transafrican) said that they must pack my tropies and my brother's in seperate crates because "US Fish and Wildlife will not be happy with 2 clients packed in the same crate." This is the oposite of what I was told when we dropped off the trophies in July. Is this a real concern or a way to get two shipments for the freight company?

I found this site last week and have really enjoyed reading the posts. I really liked one from way back that had the various occupations of the members listed. What a group.

I have a buffalo, leopard, plainsgame hunt scheduled for Zim in 2006. I have many questions and look forward to looking here for some amswers.

Doug

This also happened to N'gagi and I following our Zim buffalo/plainsgame hunt last August 2006. However, in that case, we were told it was a Zimbabwe Govt. requirement that they each be packed in separate crates. I could be wrong, but it didn't seem to be a US Fish & Wildlife requirement.

Tim

I think we discovered this to be Dept of Home Security issue on a previous string.

Check with John Meehan at Fauna and Flora regarding shipping in one container. These are the people providing the Ocean cargo scheme for completed trophies.

Les

Next time have them ship everything under one name!!!

Although Trans Africa Taxidermists have their own in-house shipping agency and you may feel they are trying to screw you, in this case they are not! The requirement to have each hunters' trophies crated separately is a ruling by US Customs as part of the Customs Border Protection program. Here is a link to more information on the Air Automated Manifesto System and this issue. http://www.swissworldcargo.com/web/IE6/ams/

To just "ship everything under one name" is only a solution if your hunting outfitter is prepared to very significantly bend the rules on the South African side. For each item to be exported from our shores a permit is required, and before the relevant provincial nature conservation authority will issue an export permit they require all the "paperwork". This includes the copy of the professional hunter register that must be signed by the client (visiting hunter) and other "behind the scene permissions", like transfer of hunting rights,licenses and P3 Exemption certificates and more. The hunting client hardly ever knows anything about all the behind the scenes paperwork required to get his trophies shipped in accordance to the legal requirements.

In short, it is a US Customs requirement to crate each hunter's trophies separately. Very little anyone can do about it, but obey the rules!

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren.

Verewaaier,

Thanks for the information on how the trophies must be shipped.I didn't know what to think because last year we were told that all could be shipped in one crate.

Doug

dougaboy,

The regulation just recently went into effect.

Rich Elliott