South Africa plains game hunt - what's needed to import trophies back?
- Thread starter chocabloc
- Start date
I’ve used Dale for 7 imports from thevUS, Namibia and South Africa. He knows what he is doing.African Hunting is a good resource but is manly geared towards US hunters as far as imports go, also there are some plains game animals the US won’t allow in the country such as Black Face Impala. It’s going to cost more going through the US, much more.
constructoman
New member
- Location
- Kitchener Ontario
Get a hold of Dave Brodhagen from www.biggamewildlifeart.com . He is located just west of toronto. He can take care of all of the paperwork and deliver the trophies to your door. I have used him for this on mounts done in Africa.
There are many venues to bring your hides back to canada. There are brokers in all provinces. Being both a taxidermist and also working in South Africa here are a few venues. First of all don’t bother with the states. You are asking for trouble as you will be importing and exporting to two different countries both with very different laws. Yes Dale at talon is there but again there are many brokers with fees ranging from 150 to 450 to be your middle man. Yes this is one of the bones of contention I have. Regardless Calgary is quick becoming one of the most poorest areas a to bring hides into in Canada. Neither customs nor CFIA really want to do there job and your hides could possible wind up in secondary, where as you are going to get raped again by the taxidermists in Calgary, touting to be specialists in disinfection, so you can be adding up another grand onto that stupid bill again. I miss my clients bringing me the African mounts for the most part. So here’s what you can do. Choose a taxidermist of your choice in RSA or wherever your going to hunt. Taxidermy prices are reasonable. Take the time go to the studios, in other words do your bloody homework. If you absolutely have to get your stuff done in Canada at least get your hides tanned in country and forgo the ship and dip. That is and always will be a nightmare for both you and your taxidermists. Ive seen more ####ty hides than good hides roll back into country. Even if you go that route have your hides tanned, there will be raw bone showing and of course customs and cfia will not do there jobs, so your probably on the hook for a minimum of 500 for the pick up, the crate disposal and of course the miracle re disinfection, of most likely a skull cap that is already perfectly boiled. Again I am so fortunate. I mount my own stuff whilst in country. be prepared for some hefty fees to bring in ship and dip. I have trended the past 20 years and if you go to a quality taxidermist in RSA, you will see that you can get your mounts, mounted, crated and back into country for about 15% less than getting it done here, and to be honest it seems right to have an African do the mounts, as it would make sense to have an Albertan do your deer mount and not ship that to say Toronto. Good luck and enjoy the many many wonders of AFRIKA
KMG Canada
CGN Regular
- Location
- Alfred, Ontario
Chocabloc,lots of good advice above. I hunt and work there every year for a RSA hunting outfitter. We bring our clients trophies back mostly through Toronto and Montreal as well as our own shipments. As mentioned above there is no need to ship through the US and i would recommend avoiding it all costs. You can also easily clear your trophies yourself and save the broker fees if you are able to pick up your own crate. If you have any questions feel free to shoot me a PM.
I got my stuff mounted in Africa, they boxed and shipped it with paradichlorobenzene as a fumigant (mothballs). When it arrived at Calgary, I went and got the paperwork, drove across the street to customs and cleared it. Drove back, got my box and went home.
That was 8 years ago or so, maybe things have changed, maybe I got lucky but it sure seemed easy.
That was 8 years ago or so, maybe things have changed, maybe I got lucky but it sure seemed easy.
