Friday from the Field:
It is important for every hunter to understand the basic legalities of exporting their hunting trophies. The first step is to ensure that all trophies that have been hunted by an individual are correctly listed on their PH Register or Hunting Permit. Below is a link to our article on how to avoid being an Unwitting Poacher

https://safarispecialtyimporters.com/news https://safarispecialtyimporters.com/news

Safari Specialty Importers take care of these details so that your trophies get home safely.

It is NOT the client’s responsibility!

The client books to hunt with a licensed professional hunter.

It is the PH’s responsibility to make sure all legalities are in order.

Which basically means desk with those above board!

In all my hunts, with several professional hunters, I never had to check anything.

And all my trophies came home.

But, I tend to be sure the people I deal with are honest and above board.

Never been disappointed!

Tanzania Regs:

At the end of the hunt, Hunter/Client signs the Hunting Permit as well as PH and Game Officer and the outfitter is ultimately responsible to ensure this procedure is concluded.

The outfitter is also bound by law to have a Trophy Register where every item the hunter wishes to retain/export is logged according to a numbered/initialed tag referenced to the animals listed on the hunting permit against which the logged trophies were shot.

This relevant page/s of the Trophy Register are also signed by the aforementioned and whether the client reads the contents or not is immaterial; his signature is however required.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
It is NOT the client’s responsibility!

The client books to hunt with a licensed professional hunter.

It is the PH’s responsibility to make sure all legalities are in order.

Which basically means desk with those above board!

In all my hunts, with several professional hunters, I never had to check anything.

And all my trophies came home.

But, I tend to be sure the people I deal with are honest and above board.

Never been disappointed!

While I agree the PH is responsible for making sure everything is legal, correct and above board, Citizens of the US ultimately bear full responsibility due to the Lacey Act. A game violation in a foreign country, regardless of the country or who we THINK is responsible, has the potential to result in a US citizen being prosecuted under the Lacy Act by the US Federal government, even if the host country does not prosecute. Even a paperwork mistake can cause alot of pain, anguish and potentially $$$$$ ...

Precisely why. like SSI stated, we as hunters need to fully understand the rules and regulations..

Might not apply to other nations but other nations are stuck with our USFWS and loser liberal politicians..

quote:

Originally posted by Scott Powell:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
It is NOT the client’s responsibility!

The client books to hunt with a licensed professional hunter.

It is the PH’s responsibility to make sure all legalities are in order.

Which basically means desk with those above board!

In all my hunts, with several professional hunters, I never had to check anything.

And all my trophies came home.

But, I tend to be sure the people I deal with are honest and above board.

Never been disappointed!

While I agree the PH is responsible for making sure everything is legal, correct and above board, Citizens of the US ultimately bear full responsibility due to the Lacey Act. A game violation in a foreign country, regardless of the country or who we THINK is responsible, has the potential to result in a US citizen being prosecuted under the Lacy Act by the US Federal government, even if the host country does not prosecute. Even a paperwork mistake can cause alot of pain, anguish and potentially $$$$$ ...

Precisely why. like SSI stated, we as hunters need to fully understand the rules and regulations..

Might not apply to other nations but other nations are stuck with our USFWS and loser liberal politicians..

Bingo! Scott, you beat me to it. Here in the USA, with Lacey Act considerations always a consideration, it makes sense to be sure that everything is in order before finding out the hard way.

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:

quote:

Originally posted by Scott Powell:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
It is NOT the client’s responsibility!

The client books to hunt with a licensed professional hunter.

It is the PH’s responsibility to make sure all legalities are in order.

Which basically means desk with those above board!

In all my hunts, with several professional hunters, I never had to check anything.

And all my trophies came home.

But, I tend to be sure the people I deal with are honest and above board.

Never been disappointed!

While I agree the PH is responsible for making sure everything is legal, correct and above board, Citizens of the US ultimately bear full responsibility due to the Lacey Act. A game violation in a foreign country, regardless of the country or who we THINK is responsible, has the potential to result in a US citizen being prosecuted under the Lacy Act by the US Federal government, even if the host country does not prosecute. Even a paperwork mistake can cause alot of pain, anguish and potentially $$$$$ ...

Precisely why. like SSI stated, we as hunters need to fully understand the rules and regulations..

Might not apply to other nations but other nations are stuck with our USFWS and loser liberal politicians..

Bingo! Scott, you beat me to it. Here in the USA, with Lacey Act considerations always a consideration, it makes sense to be sure that everything is in order before finding out the hard way.

It’s amazing that the majority of American hunters do not even know what the Lacey Act is and how it can affect them! Even a simple, unintended mistake can become a nightmare once a state line or country border is crossed ..

quote:

Originally posted by Scott Powell:

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:

quote:

Originally posted by Scott Powell:

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
It is NOT the client’s responsibility!

The client books to hunt with a licensed professional hunter.

It is the PH’s responsibility to make sure all legalities are in order.

Which basically means desk with those above board!

In all my hunts, with several professional hunters, I never had to check anything.

And all my trophies came home.

But, I tend to be sure the people I deal with are honest and above board.

Never been disappointed!

While I agree the PH is responsible for making sure everything is legal, correct and above board, Citizens of the US ultimately bear full responsibility due to the Lacey Act. A game violation in a foreign country, regardless of the country or who we THINK is responsible, has the potential to result in a US citizen being prosecuted under the Lacy Act by the US Federal government, even if the host country does not prosecute. Even a paperwork mistake can cause alot of pain, anguish and potentially $$$$$ ...

Precisely why. like SSI stated, we as hunters need to fully understand the rules and regulations..

Might not apply to other nations but other nations are stuck with our USFWS and loser liberal politicians..

Bingo! Scott, you beat me to it. Here in the USA, with Lacey Act considerations always a consideration, it makes sense to be sure that everything is in order before finding out the hard way.

It’s amazing that the majority of American hunters do not even know what the Lacey Act is and how it can affect them! Even a simple, unintended mistake can become a nightmare once a state line or country border is crossed ..

Exactly. Many on here worry about bringing certain species back from overseas or what may have been an illegal international hunting act, but it is alive and well here domestically.

I’ve had former clients prosecuted and convicted (not my case!) under the Act for violations in their deer breeding business. They each did about three years in Federal Prison, which is no longer known as Club Fed.

An interesting case was when Gibson Guitar was prosecuted under the Act:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/n...from-madagascar/amp/

It is a very all encompassing law that has evolved quite a bit since its passing.

Amazing!

So much effort put into this, while the drug trade is flourishing!

A lot of rules and regulations certainly seem designed to catch law-abiding persons in some technicality & F them over.

"Oh, dear God... Two guys shipped their legally & ethically hunted trophies home in ONE BOX?!? Let's prosecute them!!"

Meanwhile, it's not a crime to intentionally spread AIDS in some states now.

Go figure.

I agree with Saeed, we hire people who are supposed to know what they are doing and you should be able to quit worrying about it. I don't. I always check my license before getting on the charter to make sure everything that is supposed to be is on there. Before getting on the charter, because once you leave, it's harder to correct any errors.

I generally hunt on a 21 day and my outfitter is overinclusive, but once we encountered a western wildebeest where he shouldn't have been at that time of year. Out came the license. Sure enough, an animal that should have been hundreds of miles from there at that time of year was on the license. He was an old guy that apparently thought he was better off hanging out with a zebra herd than making the trek with his own kind. On ticket, in the salt.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
It is NOT the client’s responsibility!

The client books to hunt with a licensed professional hunter.

It is the PH’s responsibility to make sure all legalities are in order.

Which basically means desk with those above board!

In all my hunts, with several professional hunters, I never had to check anything.

And all my trophies came home.

But, I tend to be sure the people I deal with are honest and above board.

Never been disappointed!

Absolutely

In Tanzania, as soon as an animal is shot, the PH and game scout enter it in the license.

At the end of the safari, I sign it.

I never read.

Two government licensed individuals have already checked it.

When the light turns green you have the right to drive through the intersection, you also have the option to look both ways first

A story for you all.

A few years ago a father and family were in Namibia. The father was hunting and was having the hunt of a life time. They were on a 10 day safari and the father had taken all of the animals that he set out to go after.

Family members had not hunted in the past and the PH was asking if anyone would be interested to try it.

In Namibia a hunter can have 2 of the same animals on his license.

The 11 or 12 year old son was up to giving a hunt for a Hartman zebra, well he was successful and the zebra was added to the father’s license.

Both the father and son were charged and convicted for a Lacey violation. The fine was more then the hunt cost.

So this is a good topic to discuss.

Question is how many on here have taken a family member along and were asked if they would like to try and take an animal.

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana338:
A story for you all.

A few years ago a father and family were in Namibia. The father was hunting and was having the hunt of a life time. They were on a 10 day safari and the father had taken all of the animals that he set out to go after.

Family members had not hunted in the past and the PH was asking if anyone would be interested to try it.

In Namibia a hunter can have 2 of the same animals on his license.

The 11 or 12 year old son was up to giving a hunt for a Hartman zebra, well he was successful and the zebra was added to the father’s license.

Both the father and son were charged and convicted for a Lacey violation. The fine was more then the hunt cost.

So this is a good topic to discuss.

Question is how many on here have taken a family member along and were asked if they would like to try and take an animal.

Why were they charged?

As it seems no law was broken in Namibia??

quote:

Question is how many on here have taken a family member along and were asked if they would like to try and take an animal.

If that family member's name does not appear on the license the Lacey Act very likely disqualifies that person from squeezing the trigger on an animal regardless if the license holder (father) has 2 or more species on license.

That the Namibian authorities closes an eye is immaterial as the screwed up Lacey Act thinks otherwise and it would seem that the narrow-minded idiot behind the counter applied that very reason as an infringement of the Act.

So in this case the unwitting kid was branded as the "poacher" as he did not have a license and the father was charged with "aiding & abetting" a criminal act.

Question begs: how did the US authorities know that the kid shot the animal in the first place?

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Bwana338:
A story for you all.

A few years ago a father and family were in Namibia. The father was hunting and was having the hunt of a life time. They were on a 10 day safari and the father had taken all of the animals that he set out to go after.

Family members had not hunted in the past and the PH was asking if anyone would be interested to try it.

In Namibia a hunter can have 2 of the same animals on his license.

The 11 or 12 year old son was up to giving a hunt for a Hartman zebra, well he was successful and the zebra was added to the father’s license.

Both the father and son were charged and convicted for a Lacey violation. The fine was more then the hunt cost.

So this is a good topic to discuss.

Question is how many on here have taken a family member along and were asked if they would like to try and take an animal.

Why were they charged?

Son did not have a Namibian hunting license and it was placed on his father's license.

Social media, the son posted on Facebook.

As it seems no law was broken in Namibia??

The Son did not have a license to hunt in Namibia.

Now that I am on my computer instead of my I-phone.

This was turned in and the father & son were interview concerning the shipment from Namibia. Both the father and son were sticking to their story that the father was the one who shot the zebra. That is when the social media account was brought out. They then admitted that they were not telling the truth and had their attorney work out a deal for them.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

Question is how many on here have taken a family member along and were asked if they would like to try and take an animal.

If that family member's name does not appear on the license the Lacey Act very likely disqualifies that person from squeezing the trigger on an animal regardless if the license holder (father) has 2 or more species on license.

That the Namibian authorities closes an eye is immaterial as the screwed up Lacey Act thinks otherwise and it would seem that the narrow-minded idiot behind the counter applied that very reason as an infringement of the Act.

So in this case the unwitting kid was branded as the "poacher" as he did not have a license and the father was charged with "aiding & abetting" a criminal act.

Question begs: how did the US authorities know that the kid shot the animal in the first place?

That last question is the one I’m curious about. How the hell did they know who shot what? And how would they know what was licensed? If it was on dad’s license, how do they know his kid shot it? When my son was born, I had no idea how much grief I might avoid by giving him the same name. Glad I did that.

Typical bloody busy bodies!

Utterly useless in stopping real crimes, so they pick on something of no consequence to get a browny point!

My 1st African hunt to Zambia, my PH either mistakenly or?? put my Warthog cape folded up inside my folded Buffalo cape with no mention of the hog in the docs. USDA found it... They in turn almost incinerated my complete shipment. A helpful and sympathetic agent along with the Zambian PH association president (Mike Heath?) got me cleared but I had to ship entire shipment back.. Took like 2 years to clear this all up.

quote:

.... put my Warthog cape folded up inside my folded Buffalo cape with no mention of the hog in the docs. USDA found it.

The USDA are very particular about hogs in general and they MUST be declared on import documents as they are subjected to a special treatment ... probably something to do with hogs being carriers of Swine Fever or other.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

.... put my Warthog cape folded up inside my folded Buffalo cape with no mention of the hog in the docs. USDA found it.

The USDA are very particular about hogs in general and they MUST be declared on import documents as they are subjected to a special treatment ... probably something to do with hogs being carriers of Swine Fever or other.

Yes.

Apparent the Swine Brain Fever only affects employees of USFW!

We are glad that this topic has generated some excellent discussion!

While the Lacey Act only effects US hunters, it is important for all hunters to confirm that they have met all legal requirements regarding the hunting of their animals. Even simple mistakes can lead to headaches for the hunter, and gives ammunition to those that would see hunting go away for ever.

We had a recent situation in which a client and his wife each took Cape Buffalos in RSA. The outfitter (looking to save the client money) listed both buffalos under the husbands name. The outfitter then proceeded to make a post on social media congratulating the wife on her first buffalo. Had SSI not requested that the PH Registers be corrected, it would have been very easy for USFW to discover the inaccuracy on the permits and seize BOTH buffalos! Thankfully, we have gotten this fixed and this story will have a happy ending.

A not so happy ending occurred lasted year when a very well known and respected outfitter tried to save $200 by placing a leopard that a wife shot on her husband's permit. SSI was made aware of this after the shipment had been stopped by USFW. The husband tried to see if it would be cleared, but in the end had to pay a tidy sum in storage fees and ultimately surrender the leopard to USFW.

The Moral of these tales is simple: be aware of the laws around hunting, make sure you sign for only animals you have personally shot, and engage Safari Specialty Importers to handle all of these details for you. We take on the work to ensure everything gets home safely and legally.

quote:

Originally posted by DLS:

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

Question is how many on here have taken a family member along and were asked if they would like to try and take an animal.

If that family member's name does not appear on the license the Lacey Act very likely disqualifies that person from squeezing the trigger on an animal regardless if the license holder (father) has 2 or more species on license.

That the Namibian authorities closes an eye is immaterial as the screwed up Lacey Act thinks otherwise and it would seem that the narrow-minded idiot behind the counter applied that very reason as an infringement of the Act.

So in this case the unwitting kid was branded as the "poacher" as he did not have a license and the father was charged with "aiding & abetting" a criminal act.

Question begs: how did the US authorities know that the kid shot the animal in the first place?

That last question is the one I’m curious about. How the hell did they know who shot what? And how would they know what was licensed? If it was on dad’s license, how do they know his kid shot it? When my son was born, I had no idea how much grief I might avoid by giving him the same name. Glad I did that.

They knew bc the Son posted it on Facebook. Or as I tell my Clients Free Spying On You Book.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

.... put my Warthog cape folded up inside my folded Buffalo cape with no mention of the hog in the docs. USDA found it.

The USDA are very particular about hogs in general and they MUST be declared on import documents as they are subjected to a special treatment ... probably something to do with hogs being carriers of Swine Fever or other.

Yes.

Apparent the Swine Brain Fever only affects employees of USFW!

Unfortunately the world we Americans must live in :-(