I got an email the other day from the expediter/shipper in Jo'berg that my trophy shipment (including my leopard) from Taxidermy Enterprises in Bulawayo is being held up indefinitely (it was to arrive April 13). Seems Zimbabwe has instituted new export regulations, retroactive to 2003.

All it is, is dip and pack skins and skulls; no finished mounts. At this rate, by the time my leopard gets on the artificial tree limb above my fireplace, my heirs will be the ones to enjoy it, as I'll be long gone.

Anybody know what's going on? My best guess is Uncle Bob, or one of his cronies, has figured out another way to fleece the visting hunters. A little extra cash in the right hand would probably get them released.

GAHUNTER: I JUST got my trophies out of Zim to my Taxidermist in RSA via Maple freight of Bulawayo. At first the taxidermist was trying to ship them out by road freight, but after a few months of "waiting for paperwork" I told them BS and I would pay the extra 200 bucks for air freight. TE Enterprises had the raw skins and stuff and they were very helpful in expediting my stuff over to Maple Freight for export. If you like, I can did up the email for Maple and send it to you. I feel SO MUCH better that my stuff is out of Zim. jorge

My stuff is now with Tax Ent as well. They are supposedly in line for packing. I had the actual mounts done there. These trophies are from August 2004. Please keep us posted if you hear any news on these new problems.

2004! Holy shit batman whats taking so long. I hunted in 2004 and have all my stuff mounted in the living room for over six months. I hunted in september with Russ Broom.

I didn't have a problem either. I was there hunting with HHK last July(05)and my taxidermist had my stuff in January and that included a leopard.

We went on a donated hunt and there were therefore no trophy fees. Zim requires all trophy fees to be deposited with the reserve bank. It took a while to get all of that sorted out.

GA, there is no change in the regulations. The actual forms changed in 2003 from the NP9 and a mess of prte and post hunt reterns to a simpler single form- TR2. The usual sticking point is, however, was the money banked for the hunt - was it more than the legal minimum? or do the reserve bank suspect that there has been a currency fiddle?

Taxidermy Ent is under effectively new management. Roy Ludick and Mike Bromich are actually running things and from what I can tell, they have havleved the ship out time.

The usual problem is- Trophies were dropped off without all the paperwork being properly filled in, and now to try and track it all down... especially if it was the old NP9 system ( total 11 different forms needed for hunt and export).

New policy there is that they will not accept the trophies if all the paperwork is not completev - but this is a fairly recent policy.

Who did you hunt with?

Ganyana,

I hunted with Jumbo Moore in the ARDA section of the Save. Henry Princloo was my PH.

I hope it's just a simple delay of a few days, as the animals were shot exactly one year ago and there is a limit to how long simple salt-preserved hides will last.

I hunted Zim Sept 05 in the Omay and HHK were to take care of my Buffalo and it is still in Harre.Who knows what is happening. My first dealings with HHK and probably my last. I tried to talk with some one at their boopth in Reno and all I got was a run around. Nobody there knew anything about anything except selling hunts. All the experts and people in charge were not to be found in Reno! GAHUNTER I just deleivered some hides Thursday to my tannery and ask about their condition as they were from 2005 and they said if properly salted they would be good for years.

GA

Jumbo, and more particularly, his support staff can be a little disorganised (you might have noticed?) especially as Jumbo seems to be spending all his spare time in Moz getting the new operation there up and running - and is not in Chiredzi to kick some ass. Keep emailing! People have accused Jumbo of many things but never of ripping the client off by not shipping the trophies. They will come

Henry is now working for Karel Strydom/Alan Banks up Hwange way I believe.