This is a happy story. As many of you know leopard was on quota as an extra with my hunt with Buzz Charlton. Fortunately I got lucky with Ingwe, however, I did not have a pre-issued CITES. Usually this is no problem as you can apply upon return. But with all the political upheaval I smelled disaster.

My leopard CITES permit arrived today WITH OUT HASSLE from the USFW. In fact it was pretty speedy, the only hold up was on my end. I had to return the unused leopard CITES I had for RSA (which fell through). Once I found the RSA permit, I sent it back with my new application three weeks ago.

All went well, our government is issuing!

Just an FYI, these permits are good for one year from date of issue. If you have plans to hunt leopard in Zim for 2006 you might consider ordering it now or in the near future.

When applying it helps to include a map of the country you are hunting in and to indicate the location (concession) you will be hunting at on the map.

Thanks for the reminder Ann. I need to go ahead and get mine in the works.

Ann,

I have to say, the idea with sending a map is good! Your thinking Ann! I like that!

One additional point to remember is to not get the CITES permit too far in advance. As mentioned, it expires after a year, and must be valid at the time the the trophy enters the US. I shot a leopard last year in Zim in July, but it was late February of 2005 before the trophies arrived in the US. My permit had an expiration date of March 20, so I made it with about three weeks to spare!

If it expires before you import the trophy, you can apply for another one, but the cost and hassle factor have to be considered. Bottom line: its somewhat of a balancing act as to the timing. You want to get it far enough in advance so so have enough time if the application hits a snag for any reason. On the other hand, you don't want to get it so far in advance that it expires before the trophy is actually imported.

You need to figure shipping time too, the permit must be effective when the leopard arrives. Mine made it with three days to spare.

jim

For the reasons Jim and others above mentioned, I consider it better to wait until after the leopard is "in the salt".

Ann, I agree in principle, but have found the one year limitation to be a bit short. It seems few things in Zim or even RSA go according to specific timelines.

Also, one should consider that even during a hunt, concessions sometimes change for a variety of reasons. Other changes can occur, effectively invalidating a permit and requiring re-issue. As Ann mentioned, having an un-used permit from another country, or hunt, can slow down the proper issue later on. I waited last year until after I shot my leopard to apply for the permit. It came very quickly from USFW, and still it was close to expiring before the hide arrived in the states. There really is no rush to pre-apply anymore.

Bill