I just got the news about my leopard,
"We have now been advised that nearly all airlines servicing Southern Africa have embargoes on CITES I species (Leopard) and are no longer accepting these trophies." They are trying to work out some way of getting them back to the states. What a mess.

Even Turkish? I have had the most luck with Turkish and Ethiopian getting hard to ship trophies back. Good luck sorting this out. Always aggravating and at the prices they charge you think they would welcome containers with open arms as long as the contents are legal to ship!

It is getting to the point where you may have to consider returning to the country the following year when the trophies are ready to ship and bring them back as luggage. It would have been cheaper for me to do that last year than bring a small box to NZ from Namibia. Would it work? Could you pay someone who is going there anyway to bring them back for you? Could the AR members cooperate to do this for each other? Has anyone done this?

Bama,
Ask your freight forwarder to enquire if Qatar Airways will ship. They have been an option for me.
Even Ethiopian Airlines would carry, I think, if they fly into South Africa.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 30.06king:
Bama,
Ask your freight forwarder to enquire if Qatar Airways will ship. They have been an option for me.
Even Ethiopian Airlines would carry, I think, if they fly into South Africa.[/

Qatar was the latest to back out.

Qatar and Emirates have both been out of the game a while...

I had a shipment of finished taxidermy from England, muntjac and CWD and they had to go to Denmark to be air freighted over. No one out of Heathrow would touch them. First wire I have eve had to do in Kroner...

Well that's not good...
My Leopard just arrived stateside this January, shipped via Qatar.

Please let us know what options they present you with. Perhaps it will have to go via ocean?

Thank you for the heads up. That is certainly disheartening news!

I'm booked for leopard in Moz later this year. Please keep us updated as you find out more...

I gave up on shipping trophies awhile back. Way too pricey. Take pics and call it good.

So much business in shipping now, they don’t care about trophy shipping…bastards and political too

I would suggest that you look into shipping your trophies by ocean freight.

Atlas Air is a charter carrier that flies to several Ports of Entry in US. I have used them regularly.

I would contact Richard Lendrum, publisher of African Hunting Gazette, and now AHG Shipping and Taxidermy. He is focused on on keeping Africa alive!! He can assist with Atlas as well.

I hope this is helpful.

This is only for Cities 1 trophies, this is the reply I got. This does not have anything to do with other trophies. I don't think I'll just take pics of a lion and leopard

Since sending through our quotation to you on the 14th March, we have now had been advised that nearly all airlines servicing Southern Africa have embargoes on CITES I species (Leopard) and are no longer accepting these trophies.



I am busy working with our agents in South Africa and airlines in Harare to find a way of exporting your trophies to you

I ask again, is there anything to stop someone carrying properly prepared and documented trophies in their luggage on a plane with any airline? You are not carrying anything illegal. They may be held up for fumigation in your home country but that may happen anyway. I would like to try it but I would appreciate advice. Do African airports check the contents of bags leaving the country?
I brought fresh, salted, Rusa heads back to NZ from New Caledonia as luggage but they were checked by officials in Noumea before export.

I think your best bet is to get advice from the professionals on this.
I don't think I would try it, only because of the lack of knowledge of people screening at the airports, outbound, and thier enforcement mentality??
Further, if you come into a US POE and US AG people aren't present, they may seize your luggage??...paperwork or not?? Again, enforcement mentality!!
I know of a Boeing salaried employee who, against outfitter advice, and offer to document bait Hippo tusks,$150!!... he stuck them in his luggage in Mosi, tried to board in Lusaka and found on scan!! He spent a week in detention, while the outfitter and a local friend kept him out of jail!! Really stupid!!
I think it is risky even if well documented, and I don't know if you could get docs on CITES species soon enough to depart with them??
Talk to the Professionals on both sides of the pond!!

Guys,

I spoke to John Jackson's Conservation Force office this AM. The Humane Society brought a court action to block CITES 1 animals from being exported from RSA. Humans Society lost. Shipping CITIES 1 animals will resume.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Guys,

I spoke to John Jackson's Conservation Force office this AM. The Humane Society brought a court action to block CITES 1 animals from being exported from RSA. Humans Society lost. Shipping CITIES 1 animals will resume.

Mark

Thanks for the update Mark. Good work!!

Thanks for the update, Mark!

I’ve been twice and use a taxidermist over the first time. I would not recommend doing that. I got terrible work and with him in SA I really had no recourse. The second time I use a guy here in the states that handled everything for me and it worked out great. He also used Coppersmith.

quote:

Originally posted by the Pom:
I ask again, is there anything to stop someone carrying properly prepared and documented trophies in their luggage on a plane with any airline? You are not carrying anything illegal. They may be held up for fumigation in your home country but that may happen anyway. I would like to try it but I would appreciate advice. Do African airports check the contents of bags leaving the country?
I brought fresh, salted, Rusa heads back to NZ from New Caledonia as luggage but they were checked by officials in Noumea before export.

I got stopped at Christchurch two weeks ago with a Chital from Aussie.. salted. Apparently now you have to have a vet certificate and statement of process. I got these to them a day or two later and they still insisted that I got it fumigated… second time this year I’ve had to have that done. First time was a water buff and hog deer. The cost for those two was $1800 by the time all was paid.. didn’t do that with the axis and bought a tanned cape from the states instead…

Obviously it is difficult or impossible to get the paperwork and trophies prepared to take them home after the same African hunt you shot them on. The real issue is the refusal of so many airlines to handle and ship trophies, particularly CITES scheduled ones even when there is no problem with importing them into your home country. My question is, do airlines have the right to refuse at the airport to ship your personal bags if they contain things they do not like but are perfectly legal, and well documented and not a danger to the aircraft?
If no airline will agree to ship your leopard skin as cargo can the airline stop you from returning to the relevant country the following season, doing another hunt and then bringing the legal skin from the previous year back yourself in your bag?
Can you carry someone else's legal, fully documented, trophies?

Pom:
Excellent question regarding bringing back legal skins yourself.

I would love to know the answer. Because what it costs to get this stuff shipped home & clear customs would either finance a decent PG hunt, or be a solid down payment on a DG hunt!

Folks

I think you'd only get an answer to the question if you asked the particular airlines. One thing I can promise you is that CBP and probably agriculture will want to look at whatever skins you are bringing in.

Personally I think in totality that the negatives of trying to bring back any trophies yourself makes it impractical to even contemplate it.

Mark