Alaska, New Zealand, Africa, Asia and many other beautiful destinations offer trips of a lifetime for adventurous hunters.
Destination hunts have grown exponentially in popularity over the last decade and we regularly receive calls from hunters planning their hunts with lots of questions like "How do we make sure they come back to the US legally?" or "How long does it normally take to get my animals back?" or "What happens if something is lost and I'm already back home?" etc., etc.
These are all great questions! We will try to quell some of the fear and anxiety involved in planning a trip like this and provide some guidelines to help.
First and foremost - it's not as scary as it might seem! The most important aspect of this process is PATIENCE. With the rise in volume and the attacks from those wanting to stop all trophy hunting, the process can be quite involved. For this reason we highly recommend NOT attempting to handle this process independently. The use of experienced and professional outfitters, brokers, and taxidermists, who will work on your behalf and know the ins and outs of the process, is a MUST!
Plan ahead - It really is imperative that hunters have a game plan ahead of time. If someone has hunted abroad many times and knows the process, it's possible to fly by the seat of their pants and get away with it, but still risky. Talking to the outfitter, taxidermist, and broker to make sure they have a pre established plan to handle a hunter's trophies is critical. All good professionals in the business will know how the process works and have a plan in place to handle the hunt from start to finish.
Focus on the experience - All adventures come with ups and downs, unexpected turns in the road, and unforeseen circumstances - that's what makes it an adventure! It helps to stay relaxed, flexible, and enjoy the journey along the way.
Okay so you might be asking,
"sounds good, cut the fluff and tell me what I need to know"
Fair enough, here are some down and dirty basic info to understand
When someone tries to bring ANYTHING back from a foreign country, the US government wants to know about it. On the positive side, this help stop harmful things from entering our country like invasive species of plants and animals, drugs and other toxic products, and helps to manage illegal activities like poaching, human trafficking, etc.
On the negative side, anything run by the government is usually way over regulated and laboriously processed, especially as regulations continue to creep in an increasingly anti-hunter direction.
The USF&W and USDA regulate this process and you MUST follow their guidelines or you could end up losing your trophies or even end up in prison!
Here is a basic breakdown of how the process works:
A hunter chooses an outfitter to take them hunting
Once an animal is harvested, the outfitter will work with a local business to handle the meat, hides, and horns. In most cases, hunters choose to donate their meat to locals in need and the hides and horns are handled by a local taxidermist.
This process is called different things but generally referred to as "dip and ship" or "dip and pack". skulls will be boiled and cleaned and hides fleshed, salted and dried.
Generally this process costs between $150-$350 per animal - depending on the size of the animal
The local taxidermist (in the country being hunted) will then work with a shipper to get the specimens back to the United states. **If hunting Alaska, the animals can usually be dropped off at a processor who will get them to the tannery (in this case, skip to step 5 or call us so we can help arrange this)
We highly recommend shipping by AIR, not land or ocean. Hides stuck on an ocean freighter in a humid, hot container for months can be detrimental to the specimens and the cost savings is generally relatively minimal.
It's very important at this stage to know the broker a hunter will be working with to file your paperwork with customs and legally bring the trophies back stateside because the taxidermist will ship to them.
It's also important at this stage to consider the FINAL destination of the trophies. For example, if the taxidermist doing the final mounts is located in the northern United States, a hunter may want to have the crate come into a city like Chicago, rather than a port like Houston, because the cost of shipping from the port to the taxidermist once they have been released will vary greatly by distance.
The shipping varies, but usually it's around $1500-$2500 per crate to ship back to the US. Less for smaller animals (impalla, ibex, blacktail, etc.) and more for larger animals (cape buffalo, red stag, moose, etc.)
The broker will receive the crates with the skulls and salted hides and begin processing them for release into the United States customs process. This process can take anywhere from a couple days to several months - if they run into any hurdles. The main thing here is having a company that understands the process well because prolonged storage of your crate(s) can lead to exorbitant storage fees!
Using a USF&W approved port here is important, but not required. If shipped into a non-approved port, additional paperwork and much higher fees will be assessed so it's not worth it in our opinion.
The port that holds the crates while the release forms are being processed will charge a daily fee ranging from $100-$300 per day in general.
Some brokers have their own certified storage which will save money in the process
The processing fees vary widely among brokers but generally it costs between $1000-$3000 per crate to process through the system for release.
The final step to the process is getting the animals to the taxidermist. As noted above, depending on where the preferred taxidermist is, specific ports that are closer to home can be utilized to save on shipping from the broker to the taxidermist
A taxidermist will need to tan the animal skins and their tannery may be located near a port so contacting them ahead of time is important also. For example, if there is a tannery near the Houston port and they have a close relationship with the broker, the animals can be delivered locally to the tannery rather than shipped across the country. Approximate cost: $100 - $700
Once the hides are tanned, the taxidermist will receive them for completion of the final mounts
We recommend using a taxidermist local to the hunter's area because the cost of shipping tanned hides is far less than shipping completed mounts. Taxidermy mounts can also be easily damaged when going across the country.
One common misconception is that the taxidermist needs to have a special license or certification with the government to legally take in a hunters animals. As long as the broker correctly handles the paperwork when the items enter the US, the animals can be taken to any taxidermist the hunter chooses.
Final approximate cost to get the hunters trophies from the hunt to the taxidermist will range from $3000-$5000 per crate.
So when you go to another country try to bring home as many animals as possible because you're paying for a crate whether it's one animal or 10!
This may seem like a lot but when you work with a good combination of Outfitter, Broker, and taxidermist the process will be mostly handled for the hunter. It's good to know how it works, but in a perfect world the hunter should be able to leave and return from their hunt with peace of mind that it's all being handled for them so they can focus on the adventure and not all the logistics. When problems arise, these people know the who, when, where, and how to deal with it effectively and efficiently
One final note on brokers and a few recommendations...
There are quite a few brokers to choose from but not all are created equal. As the old adage goes, "it's not what you know, it's who you know" seems to apply to brokers. No one company is perfect so it's important to be understanding and patient with whichever company a hunter chooses to work with, but we would highly recommend choosing one that has lots of experience in the specific country being hunted. We would also suggest a smaller company because it's easy to get lost in a big crowd. When there are issues it's good to be able to get in touch with someone that has some skin in the game and fewer customers to help at any given time.
With that said, here is who we would recommend
ProCargo USA
The owners have been in the business for over 40 years and know the industry in and out. Any time we have called we have either spoken to them directly or had a return call within a day. They work with hunters and outfitters in every major country and have local connections to make the process easier and cheaper - not to mention the ability to resolve problems quickly.
One downside to ProCargo is that they are limited to a US port in Houston. The reason for this is that it allows them to use their own customers-bonded/USDA approved warehouse - which greatly reduces storage fees during the customs process. For this reason, in many cases it will be cheaper to ship into this port and then have the crates shipped to other parts of the US
D&L CHB
Another company with a long history in the industry and great customer service.
This company also has the ability to ship into Chicago and other ports for ease of transition to a hunter's local taxidermist
Trophy Shippers
This is a newer company that specializes in shipments for hunters worldwide. We have spoken to them and they seem helpful and knowledgeable.
History and experience with this company are limited due to the company being on the newer side.
They also have multiple port options across the US
Still have questions? Please give us a call. We are happy to assist you in your adventure and the preservation of those memories when you return!
Fine Art Taxidermy is a US Fish and Wildlife licensed taxidermist located in central Kansas and offers a variety of taxidermy services to customers throughout the United States
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