I received this from Safari Press and Sports Afield yesterday...

If you have any hunting trophies scheduled to be shipped to you from abroad this year, take note: It appears that a major trophy shipment boondoggle is emerging. The problem is a U.S. Department of Agriculture requirement that all trophy crates be made of wood-packing materials that have been properly treated for pests and marked with International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) stamps.

Apparently some shipping companies have not gotten the word that they need to be using approved crates. As a result, an unknown (but significant) number of trophy shipments are being rejected by USDA and ordered back to their countries of origin. The Hunting Report has heard of trophies being sent back to Spain, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

This re-shipment of trophies is not only costing shippers and clients a lot of money, but it is creating a paperwork nightmare for some clients. Some shipments sent back to their countries of origin contain animals that require CITES permits to import, and because the crates cleared U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service before going to USDA, affected hunters will have to re-apply for CITES permits before their trophies can be re-shipped to them.

The new USDA shipping crate requirements are being enforced by APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service), which stipulates that all wood packing materials meet IPPC standards. These regulations require that all wooden packaging materials be heat-treated or fumigated with methyl bromide. Materials must also be marked with a designated IPPC logo, along with a code for the country that treated the wood and a code indicating which treatment was used.

The crate regulations went into effect last September, but shippers were given a grace period to comply. That grace period ended February 1, 2006, when APHIS inspectors at ports of entry were given the authority to allow receivers of noncompliant shipments to remove the contents and return the crate. Because this is at the discretion of APHIS authorities, hunters with noncompliant shipments at some ports of entry have received their trophies, while others found their entire shipments returned to the country of origin. Starting July 1, all noncompliant shipments will be returned, without exception, at the cost of the receiver/importer.

Almost certainly, more noncompliant shipments are already in the pipeline, or about to be placed there. Any hunter who has trophies in a foreign country that have not been shipped yet should get in touch with the company handling his trophies. Find out if the crating material the company plans to use meets the new APHIS standards. Tell your shipper to visit the APHIS web site at www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/wpm/; or visit the IPPC web site at www.ippc.int/IPP/En/ispm.jsp.
Technically, hunters themselves are responsible for any extra shipping costs that might be incurred, and they may have to pay them if they want their trophies. However, word that these APHIS regulations would be enforced has been circulating for months, and all shippers should be aware of them. In addition, the regulations themselves are not new; it's only the enforcement of them by APHIS that is new. Currently, IPPC requirements are enforced by over 100 countries worldwide, so there is no excuse for any reputable shipper to be shipping trophies into the USA in the wrong kind of wooden crate.

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Sports Afield Magazine

I cannot see how the hunter can be held responsible for any extra costs. It is known for the last 2 years that crates must be build from treated wood. If I remember correctly the due date was moved to give the export companies time to get organised. If they still fail to crate the trophies correctly after they had ample time to get their act together, they should carry the extra cost.

I thought this was all old, old news!?!?!?

Dan

quote:

I thought this was all old, old news!?!?!?

It is, but something as important as this should be kept fresh in our minds!

It is old news but, they are now inforcing it on every crate. I had a crate from Tanz that did not have the proper wood in the crate and it was sent back at the expense of the hunter. So he had to pay to have it shipped back to Africa and then back to the USA a second time. Luckily his outfitter in Africa picked up the extra expense. I guess it pays to book with someone reputable.

Hopefully my trophies from Zambia are not caught up it this mess. They were to be shipped in early April and I haven't seen them yet.