I need advise please, what is the correct best procedure for the field dressing and caring of my trophy skulls and capes in the field and at camp in Africa. I want to make sure my trophies get home without hairloss and bugs. What about the African taxidermist what is their part if I want to ship the trophies back home to get mounted.

Any and all information would be helpful, I want to be as informed as possible.

Thanks in advance.

Your PH will have that taken care of for you. Most worth their salt are well versed in field care and salting. Just oversee the process. Watch to see if ears are turned inside out completely before salting. Look and make sure the lips and nose are skinned and turned fully open before salting and that all the red flesh and fat has been removed. Make sure the skin are salted indoors and not exposed to the sun. Sun drying makes them virtually worthless . They should salt and then in 24 hours shake off that salt and resalt then wait another day or 2 and hang to dry again inside not in the sun.
A PH will then transfer them to a dip pack company to do the paperwork crate and ship your trophies home to your taxidermist.

Thanks for the advice. Must they wash bloody skins before putting them in the salt?

Ami... You should simply discuss with whom you are hunting with (PH- operator). As Dennis said, ANY PH of any basic quality will have this handled from A to Z. One of the fun things on safari IMO is to see how expertly they handle the animals. I'm sure you will have expert skinners in camp to handle. I've brought back some 50 hides etc without problem.

Ami , some do if the blood is very bad, we here in North American don't usually do it unless it's a light colored hollow hair animal like sheep antelope or caribou. Most African outfits do rinse them off. If they do they will most likely lay down salt first on the floor so the wet hide has salt on both sides to draw out the moisture from the rinsing , it's not really wash. Thats the proper way to do it.
Water and moisture are bacteria's friend and it's bacterial growth in the skin that will cause hair loss so if it's done quickly and and drained and salted immediately your good !

Thanks everyone

Ami, here's the bottom line: unless your willing to sacrifice precious hunting time, you won't be watching the skinners do their work. Say you shoot an Impala at 9 AM. By the time you get back to the camp/lodge, watch them hang, field dress, skin, flesh and salt (don't forget lunch) most of your day, if not all will be gone. Expensive way to spend your money. Even if your a professional Taxidermist and want to do the fleshing and salting yourself, getting a small cut or scrape could prove disastrous. Are you willing to risk contracting a disease or parasite from a foreign animal? Most likely you will kill your game and continue hunting, leaving the work to those who are supposed to be qualified. Here's what you should know before leaving home: 1. Does your PH/hunting outfit have excellent field care references? Did you follow up by contacting past clients (clients within the last year or two) 2. Did those past clients receive their trophies? 3. Have any problems with their trophies (condition). 4. Who was their Taxidermist? Did you contact their Taxidermist? Their comments on trophies coming from your PH/Outfit?
Realize that many times, salt gets reused in Africa. "Burned" or reused salt is not as effective as new salt, and, make sure they use the right kind of salt. Some use rock salt, which cannot penetrate certain parts as well as a fine salt. Also, if your planning on hunting Vaal Rhebok or other sensitive game like Klipspringers, you should take along some anti-bacterial tablets. Added to the salt brine, this really eliminates "hide slipping" bacteria. Many things to consider besides arriving on the ground and hunting! Cheers, LDK