FAQ
1) HOW DO I GET MY TROPHIES TO KAROO TAXIDERMY?
Your Outfitter or Professional hunter will normally deliver your trophies to our premises in Graaff-Reinet. This service is normally stated in the terms of the hunting contact between you and your outfitter. We also have a collection service where we would drive around the country, collecting trophies from various individual outfitters. Please contact us in order to arrange a collection.
2) HOW LONG WILL I WAIT FOR MY TROPHIES TO BE COMPLETED?
Our current turnaround time is between 7 and 10 months after confirmation of your order. Orders consisting of dioramas, specialized mounts and pachyderms may take a bit longer.
3) WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY CONFIRMATION OF MY ORDER?
Confirmation of your order is reached when we have: 1. received all your trophies, 2. received all your trophy instructions, and 3. received the deposit for your order.
4) HOW DO I GET MY TROPHIES BACK TO MY HOME COUNTRY?
Trophies can be shipped by either air or sea to your home country. We will take care of the whole shipping process and will keep you informed on the progress of the shipment.
5) WHAT IF I HUNTED OUTSIDE OF SOUTH AFRICA, HOW DO I GET MY TROPHIES TO KAROO TAXIDERMY?
Simply inform your outfitter or PH of your wish to send the trophies to Karoo Taxidermy. You can inform us before or shortly after you safari so we know to expect your trophies. We will make arrangements with our importer in Johannesburg and with your outfitter's exporter in the country you hunted, to ship your trophies to us in South Africa. After the relevant export permits have been arranged by your PH, Outfitter and Exporter, the copies should be sent to us so we can apply for import permits to South Africa. Once all permits are in order, the shipment will be made.
6) SHOULD I SHIP BY AIR OR BY OCEAN?
Karoo Taxidermy ship trophies by both air and by ocean. Airfreight has in the passed been, and still is, the preferred way to ship the majority of hunting trophies. If time is a factor, this is usually the way to go. An air freighted crate of trophies will typically take between seven and fourteen days to transit from the shipping agent to your door. This is however affected by availability on the airliner's side and the congestion at the port of entry. On the other hand, trophies are not time-sensitive. It is not like you have a part broken on a machine that for every day it is down it is costing you thousands of dollars. Generally speaking shipping by ocean takes between eight and twelve weeks from when the shipping agent receives your crated trophies if delivered in the US and six to eight weeks to European destinations. As a rule ocean freight can be about twenty-five percent cheaper than air freight to selected destinations.
7) IS IT SAFE TO SHIP BY OCEAN?
Occasionally you will hear rumors of sea freight not being recommended due to moisture and humidity contamination in transit. This has never been our experience and considering the volumes of cargo shipped across the ocean by boats each year, including everything from electronics to clothing, we can assure you this is not much of an issue.
8) WHICH PORTS ARE AVAILABLE IN TERMS OF OCEAN FREIGHT?
Currently we ship regularly only to the port of New York in the USA and to Copenhagen, Denmark in Europe. We are working on making available two ports on the South and West coast of the USA. From these ports, the trophies can be distributed to neighbouring states and countries if desired and if it is cost effective. Bear in mind that when we say we ship by ocean, the entire container consists only of hunting trophies (entire container dedicated to hunting trophies). Consolidating hunting trophies with other cargo like farming implements or truck spares and power plants are most undesirable and can cost you dearly in terms of damage to crates at the end of the day.
9) ARE MY TROPHIES INSURED WHILE BEING SHIPPED?
Getting insurance on your trophies is advisable, but entirely optional. There is always a remote chance an accident could occur. Trophies are a token of the fond memory; losing them is greater than just the physical mount. While you can never replace the actual hunt, with the right insurance plan you have the option of returning and recollecting the same animals."
10) FOR WHICH VALUE ARE MY TROPHIES INSURED?
SCI publish trophy insurance values annually. This (high) value takes into account the physical taxidermy and shipping bill, as well as the cost of the hunt, but we only use this only as a guideline. The client can make the decision to insure the individual trophies for a higher or lesser value. A once off premium of approximately 1% of the insured value is payable before shipping the trophies.
11) WHY CAN I NOT FLY MY TROPHIES BACK HOME WITH ME?
After the completion of the hunt in a foreign country, theoretically, hunters can pack their horns, antlers, and capes in their luggage or a separate box checked as luggage and head for home. For instance, hunters who travel to Canada, Mexico, or even places like New Zealand for certain species do this pretty regularly, All that is generally required is that the hunter obtain an export permit from the country of origin-this serves as proof to your local authorities that the animals were hunted per the legal requirements of the country of origin. If no export permit is obtainable, a hunting license and government documentation from the country hunted will need to be supplied. When you enter the United States, declare the wildlife to the Customs and Border Protection authority. At this point they will generally bring in the local Department of Agriculture and the local conservation department. You will need to complete customs forms and, barring any out-of-the-ordinary circumstances, that should be about it. However, depending upon the country and species imported, this process is more theoretical than practical. For African countries, bringing your trophies home with you on the plane is not feasible. This is because the proper documentation for export permits (from the African country) cannot be obtained in the required timeframe. African countries require certain protocol be followed before an export permit is issued, which includes the professional hunter filling out and submitting a hunt report with the government as well as an official dip and pack procedure with a veterinarian's signature. This process takes several weeks to months. So shipping trophies after the hunter leaves is the standard procedure.
12) WHAT IS DIP & PACK?
Dip & Pack is a process required by African governments to sterilize animal parts before an export permit can be issued. There are only certain veterinarian-approved facilities that do it. Karoo Taxidermy is a veterinary approved Dip & Pack facility and will expertly prepare your trophies if necessary. Dip & Pack is time-consuming in terms of the paperwork involved and processing of the trophies. Unfortunately there is no way around it. You'll pay a per animal fee for the dip & pack service.
13) WHEN IS DIP & PACK PROCESSING NECESSARY?
Dip & Pack is only necessary if the taxidermist mounting your trophies is located in a different country from which you hunted your trophy.
14) IF I HUNTED IN SOUTH AFRICA AND MY TAXIDERMY WORK WILL BE DONE BY KAROO TAXIDERMY, IS DIP & PACK NECESSARY?
No. You do NOT need to Dip & Pack your trophies if you hunted in South Africa and Karoo Taxidermy does your taxidermy work.
15) SHOULD YOU HAVE TAXIDERMY DONE AT HOME OR IN AFRICA?
There are good African taxidermists who do an excellent job and some American taxidermists who are fully capable of mounting any African game; and there are also equally poor ones on each continent. Karoo Taxidermy employs all the necessary skills to turn your hunting trophy into a taxidermy masterpiece. What does hold some water is the cost issue. In many cases African taxidermists are much, much cheaper than their American counterparts; this is mostly because of the lower cost of labor in Africa. It certainly makes sense to have your work done here if the cost savings is great enough.
16) CAN I CLEAR MY OWN TROPHIES WHEN THEY ARRIVE AT THE PORT OF ENTRY?
If you live close to one of these ports of entry, you can go there in person and clear your own trophies. Customs documentation will need to be filled out and you have to clear them by yourself with the relevant departments of Agriculture, Conservation and the Centers for Disease Control. However, most hunters either don't live close to a port of entry or do not whish to deal with the bureaucracy of clearing their own trophies. This is where a customs clearing agent is of great use.
17) WHAT IS A CUSTOMS CLEARING AGENT?
A customs clearing agents, or customs brokers, are licensed individuals or companies whose main business is clearing products through Customs for clients. There are lots of such companies out there, but only a few that intimately know the regulations regarding hunting trophies. If you do not have a dedicated customs clearing agent, Karoo Taxidermy will appoint one on your behalf that specializes in hunting trophies.
18) DO I HAVE TO USE CUSTOMS BROKERS?
Absolutely not. Just as you can do your own taxes or defend yourself in court, you do not have to hire a trained professional. But common sense suggests that you should. There are lots of things you can legally do yourself. However, it requires poring through reams of government information and paperwork to make sure you get it right, and there is still a big chance you may make a mistake. If you count your time as anything, it is money well spent to use an expert to help with importation.
19) DO I NEED A CITES IMPORT PERMIT TO IMPORT MY ELEPHANT TUSKS FROM SA, BOTS, ZIM OR NAM TO THE USA?
US FWS Headquarters has confirmed that elephant tusks that are not worked in any way other than capped, mounted on a base, being used in a taxidermy mount or tanned hides do not require US CITES Import Permits and are coded "H" on the CITES export permit. The tusks cannot be worked in any way - carved, scrimwshawed, etc - only capped and mounted. Items like Elephant foot stools; elephant tail wall hangings; luggage bags and handbags; etc. are made up articles and would require an export CITES permit coded "P". Elephant bone that is worked in any way - carved, scrimshawed, etc or made into any other articles, will require a US Import Permit in addition to the export CITES permit coded "P".
20) WHAT DOES THE CUSTOMS CLEARING AGENT DO?
Brokers offer a lot of extra value for the little money they charge. For example, they know the procedures inside and out; know what species require special permits and treatment; have the ability to physically transfer your container to their secured storage facility (this can be a huge cost savings in itself, as anyone who has ever left a shipment in an airline holding facility can attest); know the fair rate for delivering the trophies to your final destination (and will inform you if you are getting taken advantage of). In the end it has been our experience that using a customs clearing agent is not only much easier for the client, but their knowledge and advice may actually save the client money in the long run.
