What is the latest on shipping trophies/capes/etc from Zim? A few weeks ago there was a post about Zim not providing the proper paperwork to USFWS and therefore shipments were reportedly returned to Zim or destroyed. I have a crate ready to ship over and don't want another snafu, been waiting almost two years to get my stuff from Taxi. Ent. Thanks for any info.

Mine cleared about a month ago (through Houston). Included both a CITES leopard and elephant. No problems. Everything is at the tannery now.

7mm,
Same here!! I used Tax Ent, and now the crate is with Maple Freight ready to go, but with the same paperwork issue. I have been speaking to Vicky, but it's like pulling teeth to get a return call from them.
I haven't heard from them in over a month.

Thank GOD I had my leopard skin shipped to me last year ahead of the other mounted stuff to be mounted here in the USA!! I would have been freaking-out by now!

Received my stuff a few months ago and was very disappointed. Some of the WORST taxidermy I have ever seen. Hair loss on skins. Wrong Kudu horns.

Beautiful work on purses and gun cases and a very well constructed packing crate. No reply from TE.

Shipping from SA was high, but that included the cost from Zim which I believe was more than the Air Frieght.

Make sure if you give them a credit card for the shipping that they run it through in USD not Rand. They quoted me USD and it cost $80.00 extra when they charged it as Rands.

my last trip took 3 years with tax ent. had a civet cat mounted by them - poor job, screwed up my ele ears etc. etc. etc. seems like either they are the only game in town or they have to be paying off the outfitters to use them

You basically have a choice of 4 taxidermy companies in im.

Taxidermy Ent, Safariland, Matebeleland Taxidermy and Bromley. The first three are based in Bulawayo. All are beset by similar current Zimbabwe problems. - Basically the Bullawayo office of Parks has managed to issue just 20 valid export permits since August.

Secondly, The central reserve bank has garnished all company bank acounts to pay for the last election. This is more than a minor problem- the airlines want to be paid to carry goods. If The taxidermist and the shipping agent were paid before last friday (when companies were again alowed to keep their money at their own banks instead of having to keep them at the reserve bank) then...the Zimbabwe Government has taken it. They hope to begin to repay those accounts within the next few months.

I am not popular for saying it, especially as a friend has recently bought taxidermy ent and is revamping it and another mate owns safariland, but under the current environment, just do a dip and pack and get the taxidermy work done somewhere else. Or- and this may prove an unfortunate prophecy - expect to get your trophies once bob has gone.

Well, that's not exactly what I wanted to hear but thanks for posting it.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!---my shipment is still on hold over there --- seems that our Fish Cops on this side of the pond decided to stir the pot and mess with the system enough to cause a considerable change in the paperwork process. Not sure of the exact details but they dicked around long enough that my CITES permit expired -- thus had to renew -- now seems the regulatory types in Harare cannot seem to get r' done for unknown reasons ---- this is really beginning to torque my shorts --

Bummer. Glad I went for the tuskless. That's also why I'm doing PG in Namibia instead of Zim.

I'm in the same boat. My Safariland order is sitting in Bulawayo (done and paid for about 10 months ago). I was told that all paperwork was in order. I don't know what the holdup is now.

I've already paid for dip and pack and the shipment costs of my October trophies to South Africa for taxidermy with Life Form and they're still sitting in Bulawayo waiting for the bank confirmation and processing. What a pain in the ass!

It sounds like (per Ganyana) that the funds might have been snookered by the Reserve Bank. That's not very nice! Keep us posted.

Some of them are being shipped, two of my customer's trophy shipments arrived in Houston last week, so all is not lost.

Same problem, been waiting since July 06 for trophies out of Zim. Been told the same lines over again. I don't think that I am ever going to see them, or if I do the hides will be beyond repair. It's hard to be optimistic at this point.

WLA

moral of this story- only hunt Zim if you are willing to possibly never see your trophies again when you leave camp. very sad but that conclusion is pretty much unavoidable. take lots of pictures and hope for the best.

I have an elephant and some assorted "rats and mice", hopefully, at Bromleys. Someone posted earlier in the thread that he had a cites elephant. My reading of our import regs state that an import permit for elephants from Zim is not required. If I am wrong someone tell me 'cause I sure don't have one!

Bryan, St. Thomas is on the US side of course so wouldn't you have to have a CITES?

Myself and three friends are waiting on trophies from Taxidermy Enterprises sine September 07. Unfortunately the three of them including my 76 yo father were all newbies. TE is silent on the matter. They have blamed USFW in the past.

Jeff

To clarify, I only have raw capes/horns and tanned zebra. TE ruined 2 giraffes. I contacted HHK who I booked the hunt through and got a "go to hell" email because the secretary got her feeling hurt when I complained about waiting 2 years to get raw trophies which by the way I have not got as of today. The only reason I talked to the secretary is because she was the only one with enough courtesy to call me. I did not chew her out, just stated that I should be entitled to trophies I shot and paid for to HHK.
To again state my reason for posting initially, has the Zim govt. corrected their permit system where the USFWS will accept raw animal trophies from Zim? IF and that's a big IF, TE ships my trophies, will the USFWS return the trophies to Zim?
Perhaps we need a post on how many AR members have shipments held up in Zim and most importantly what are the safari companies and the booking agents doing to resolve the issue.??

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
moral of this story- only hunt Zim if you are willing to possibly never see your trophies again when you leave camp. very sad but that conclusion is pretty much unavoidable. take lots of pictures and hope for the best.

Pardon me, but that is an absurd statement. I hunted Zim in September 2007. In April 2008 my trophies arrived in Houston, cleared US Fish and Wildlife and Customs and are presently at the tannery. That includes a CITES (issued in Zim) elephant and a CITES (issued in the US) leopard. Sometimes the overgeneralizations on this site are completely over the top. I am sure my experience is not unique.

Zim parks have converted their system to issue US compliant export permits. Unfortuantely the computer glitches have ment a painfully slow rate of permits comming out (20 in a month). Parks have contracted people to fix the problems and it will come right within the next month.

Zim elephants population is CITES Apendix II so no, you do not need a US issued import permit like you do for leopard (or cheetah - but the Americans cannot import those anyway)

I outlined the next main cause of delay in my first post. That isn't going to change.

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
I've already paid for dip and pack and the shipment costs of my October trophies to South Africa for taxidermy with Life Form and they're still sitting in Bulawayo waiting for the bank confirmation and processing. What a pain in the ass!

Same problem with us, only we hunted in May 07.

I received an email from Freight Consultants, who are responsible for sending our trophies to SA, that the documentation for our trophies was submitted to bank in second week of January! It is beyond my comprehension why the bank is taking so long in processing.

Email from Tax Ent today. They have no idea when my September 07 trophies will ship. They are blaming the permitting process.

Jeff

Ahmed, Bwana etc.

Neighter the taxidermist nor the shipping company has any control over the parks permiting process or when the central reserve bank will release the funds to pay for the shipment to actually go. The shipping agent has to provide proof that you have paid for the hunt in full, all the work and pre-paid the shipping when they apply for the final export permit. Even when parks sort out this current glitch on the issue of permits there is a massive backlog. Remember Bulawayo issued only 20 permits since August last year. Harare perhaps as many as 100.

Even when the permits are issued and all is correct, the shipping agent now has to get your money out of the reserve bank to pay the airline- but Thir bank statements show they have all the money deposited- you just cannot draw, transfer or spend any of it- because gavernment has used it and the figures on the bank statement simply say what you should have, not what is actually there. Until Bob goes and aid money flows in, shipping agents will be limited to using only a fraction of the funds in their own accounts.

Ganyana,

I am not cheered, but thank you for the insight.

Jeff

Why do the shipping agents have to pay the airline when the shipments almost always are shipped COD (Freight Collect)?

quote:

Originally posted by Ganyana:
Ahmed, Bwana etc.

Neighter the taxidermist nor the shipping company has any control over the parks permiting process or when the central reserve bank will release the funds to pay for the shipment to actually go. The shipping agent has to provide proof that you have paid for the hunt in full, all the work and pre-paid the shipping when they apply for the final export permit. Even when parks sort out this current glitch on the issue of permits there is a massive backlog. Remember Bulawayo issued only 20 permits since August last year. Harare perhaps as many as 100.

Even when the permits are issued and all is correct, the shipping agent now has to get your money out of the reserve bank to pay the airline- but Thir bank statements show they have all the money deposited- you just cannot draw, transfer or spend any of it- because gavernment has used it and the figures on the bank statement simply say what you should have, not what is actually there. Until Bob goes and aid money flows in, shipping agents will be limited to using only a fraction of the funds in their own accounts.

My shipment from ZIM from my last July hunt just hit my tannery. They said my Sable and Cape buffalo had red mold on them. We will see. They sat in ZIM forever before they were shipped. They also said my skulls, were not bubble wrapped and all busted up.

Motorcity,
I hope mine fared better. They are at Highveld in RSA now. No-one has said anything about damages so here's hoping. Were your's shipped home?
Mike

Dear E-Mail Extra Subscriber


US hunters who have been waiting for shipment of CITES trophies they hunted in Zimbabwe last year may have to wait a while longer. You'll recall we reported that CITES shipments from Zimbabwe were on hold pending the approval of a new CITES export document/permit for use by Zimbabwe CITES Management Authorities. The form had to be re-designed to meet new requirements by US Fish & Wildlife Service. Well, the new form has finally been approved by the CITES Secretariat, and Zimbabwe National Parks has implemented a computer system to issue the permits. The problem is that some computer glitches have developed and that is further delaying the issuance of permits. Authorities are now facing what we are told is an enormous backlog of trophies.

A complicating factor in this is the possibility that some US CITES import permits for these trophies may be about to expire. If you are waiting on a shipment from Zimbabwe that includes a CITES species, you need to check the expiration date on your import permit from US Fish & Wildlife Service. Do that right away. Make sure it is not about to expire. If it is, you must contact your safari operator immediately to arrange for him to hold your shipment until you can secure a new CITES permit. Your shipment could be returned or confiscated if it arrives with an expired permit….

The trophies from my July hunt last year came in a few weeks ago. I need to stop by my taxidermist and check them out to make sure they're in one piece, but I'm hoping since he hasn't called they are good to go... we'll see. Hope all of you that are waiting get yours soon.

Funny, I don't see any booking agents or outfitters sounding off on this issue. As this issue snowballs it will be a killer for Zim hunts except for those guys that just go to shoot tuskless, etc.
If I would have know two years ago what what going to happen (or not happen) to my trophies, there is no way in hell I would have re-booked to Zim. I'll put up with the election mess but don't screw me out of my trophies that I bought and paid for!
I'm pleading for you booking agents and outfitters to get involved in this thing and help us out in whatever way you can.

I recently got a shipment from TE. It took a couple of years and many emails. I think being persistant helped get me through the tight spot in the funnel. Quality was good on a shoulder buff and very poor on a croc rug. Felt very lucky to have them given the situation.

I can assure you this is not just a permit issue, I had 4 hunters that hunted Zim April 07 and their trophies arrived in Houston, July 07.
LHook hunted Zim 07 and his trophies arrived last month. Two other shipments in my previous post hunted 07 and they arrived Houston last week. These shipments were all handled by someone other than Taxidermy Enterprizes.

Glad to hear that Lee's shipment arrived. That's actually pretty fast considering all that is going on there.

So...who is doing the fast shipments Jerry? Who are you recomending?

I am definitely with sevenmagltd on this one. It seems several people are getting their trophies back that hunted in 07, mine are from July 2006. I have got no where with the booking agent or the Safari company in trying to get my trophies back. I'm not a wealthly man and saved for several years, spent a considerable amount of my yearly income to go on this elephant and plains game hunt only to get screwed out of my trophies I only have photos. Even if they do arrive (which I highly doubt) the hides will most likely be beyond tanning after sitting that long. The freight company even wanted their $2000.00 to ship it back in January but still have not gotten an "acquittal number" (their term) for the shipment. Imagine if I had paid them, out my trophies plus 2 grand. I would have never went if I had known all this. My understanding of a booking agent is that they have a business obligation as well as a moral one to help retrieve your trophies. Am I wrong?

WLA

Ganyana Thanks for the info.

This delay is annoying but I am more worried about the condition in which I will receive my trophies. Among them is a very hard hunted Leopard, which I rate as one of the best trophy that I have hunted so far.

I feel the same way, Ahmed.

I think Jerry has stated the obvious conclusion, the delay problems appears to be tied to Taxi. Ent. My advice to anyone going to Zim is "DO NOT LET T.E. HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOUR TROPHIES". Insist your outfitter send your animals to someone other than TE or don't pay them their trophy fees because you will never see your animals,(any don't expect any help from booking agents).
Would sure like to hear from some of the booking agents that appear on this site. Come on guys, give us your side of the story.

Well TE has my stuff - just one more problem with my trip! See the below e-mail I got from TE - I would guess I am likely never going to see my trophies - and if so it will be a long time...

Dear Tim



I am pleased to be able to forward to you your summary of final account for your 2008 hunt. I have also attached our bank account details to enable you to make payment.

Unfortunately we are not able to ship any trophies out at the moment. On 1 March 2008, Zimbabwe National parks advised us not to submit any further applications for CITES export permits as the new permits had not yet been finalized and accepted by the CITES Secretariat in Switzerland. These new export permits have now been approved and the computer software for this has been installed on the National Parks computer. As no permits have been issued for the past two months, you will appreciate that there is now an enormous backlog and it will take a bit of time for national Parks to catch up. National Parks staff are experiencing some teething problems with these new permits, as they are very different from the old one, but a much more professional document, we are working with Parks and assisting them when ever we can. We kindly ask you to bear with us whilst this backlog at national Parks is being dealt with.

We apologize most sincerely for any inconvenience caused, but as you can see from the above the delay is beyond our control.

However, if you would still like to make payment for the trophy order, as soon as payment has been confirmed by T.C.I. your order will be placed in line for packing. Hopefully then once National Parks have cleared their backlog, your order will not be further delayed by us having to await confirmation of your payment and then only place your order in line for packing. The ultimate decision remains with you, and it would be greatly appreciated if you could confirm your decision.

I just found out this week that mine from 2006 have arrived in New York. Thank goodness! I have hope of seeing them here in Vegas in the next two weeks.