D&P, Shipping & Clearing 2021 Trophies from SA

MarkB

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Hello All

Most of our local hunting is over so I now have time to complete a report on getting trophies home. I have received and opened my shipment so now an "after action report" from my 2021 SA safari, 22 animals, 5 CITES species. A lesson learned thread (maybe long winded), if you read my hunt report you will know I am a DYI safari goer as much as possible, I do not like to pay for simple things I can complete, I also enjoy these tasks. I select my own D&P company as well as shipper, finally I clear all my own shipments. As I am Canadian last section will specifically pertain to us Canuck’s North of the border with some info for all. Hopefully some will gain knowledge and details from this thread, I know some will save money as those that DM/PM'd me already have. I will break down thread into 4 sections. D&P, Shipper, Clearing and final overview.

D&P

As a "hobby" taxidermist I knew what I wanted with each species if I was successful long before departure. So, many months prior to safari I sent an "expected" D&P list to many companies. Lots from this site, some from recommended and others from internet searches. I then received a list of quotes and started comparison and reduction process. A spreadsheet guy I treated like a hiring process. I thought that prices would be comparable, this was not the case, some were "out to lunch" others were almost same as last safaris. Also high on priority list was communication, email question response time, references and what others on here recommended. It is also very important to compare apple to apple quotes, what is and what is not included. After a month I had 2 companies on top and in SA area where hunt would end.

Hunters and Collectors (H&C) in Port Elizabeth were #1. Kevin the owner and Nicole the office manager responded fast, answered all my questions, had awesome prices, and had all great reviews. Kevin also invited us for a tour if we wanted when we were in SA. After my safari and while on the tourist part I stopped in and had the grand tour, an awesome BS session for 2 hrs. I must say his showroom has a specimen of every species hunt-able that I know of. We were impressed.

A few things sealed the deal, allowing H&C to be the company of choice.

-They provided all costs in Canadian funds and took them as payment. This saved time and exchange rate fees. Bank transfer was the method of choice, funds were in H&C account within 2 days of sending, immediate deposit received email confirmations were sent by Nicole.

-Kevin was willing to cut all skulls to my request, skull plates are only needed for shoulder mounts, this allowed easier skull cleaning, no teeth, jaws and brain cavity cleaning, saves weight, space and makes inspection by Canadian Border Services (CBSA) and Canadian Food and Inspection Agency (CFIA) far easier. All life size skulls remained whole.

-He took notes concerning my desires, no holes in horns for tags, no horn blackening or over boiling.

I took a package of all printed Canadian import requirements and left with H&C, both for D&P and shipping. Plus specific instructions of skull cutting and the finalized list of trophies. Not exactly same as post hunt list. I shot more but missed honey badger and one Genet.

As my hunt was 5 separate camps all over SA it took some time for the outfitter to organize and deliver my trophies to H&C but as soon as they received them a complete itemized confirmation list of all parts was sent to me.

Then the wait started, and it was long, summer 2021 safari and receipt of trophy crate Nov 2023. This long timeline was due to many TIA issues and me.

-I had croc tanned in SA, this took months,

-SA changed from paper to electronic permits just after paper paperwork was submitted, making all new electronic submissions required.

-I did not want to receive shipment at a time when I was hunting, Sept-Nov inclusive and

-Airline delay of shipment many times.

Nicole sent updates regularly and pics of animals finished. This gave me confidence that all D&P was being completed at required Gov of Canada regulatory levels.

Update Pic.jpg

Nicole's update Pic.

When all D&P was completed and all permits complete, including, vet certificates, species hunted paperwork and CITES, Nicole sent me a full electronic copy for my review.

My crate.

Canadian import rules for D&P states that shipment is to be in "leak proof" sealed, no wood or only certified wood crates. CBSA or CFIA website has company and stock #s for review of recommended crates. Since I did NOT want any re-inspection or secondary D&P in Canada it was important to me to have perfect import in every controllable way. These tubs are the fish totes used here at home for seafood products. With 10 min internet search I found same products in SA with a warehouse doors away from H&C. Company name is Mpact Plastics and my contact was Jacco Nel. They have many sizes available but the perfect sized one for my application was called a Jumbo Bin with a seal-able lid, it was available and delivered to H&C, cost was less than H&C’s quoted amount for “crating”, Bin and lids total weight is 80 lbs but size is volumetric so little issue. It dumbfounds me that Canadians are using the wooden made crates and risking secondary inspections for D&P shipments. Not really sure why whole SA importing of D&P trophy industry are not using these crates. No forklift will penetrate, crush weights are tons and they can safely stack 5 high. I see no negative issues. I sent crate company contact and details to Nicole and she organized crate shipment and receipt, then crate was packed. Shipper had crate picked up and delivered to Joberg.

IMG_2038.JPG

Crate with lid removed.

When home with shipment and I after had a chance to look, it became clearly evident that H&C did an outstanding job on the D&P. All specimens were clean, white, no tissue remained and most important horns and skulls were NOT over boiled. All individual items were identified with tags I took and H&C tags, bubble wrapped, taped and sealed in plastic bags. Small skulls had extra bubble wrap then boxed and lion floating bones were placed in in a plastic bottle with bubble wrap.

In crate all non CITES items were packed below a separation plastic divider, this stated no CITES below, great for CSBA or CFIA inspectors. In all my safaris I have never seen such perfection in cleaning or in packing/crating of trophies.

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Skulls from crate.

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Crate separation of CITES

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Packed crate, after I moved stuff to look, feel, smell safari again.

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Excellent D&P, sealed, wrapped and not over boiled.

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Skulls from crate. Lion missing tooth my fault and real base being made.

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More cleaned skulls. Cut as requested.

As to D&P costs, there are many posts on here concerning this with many people posting their bills. If this is something members want I will post. I have not yet as my safari was not average, 22 species with many parts.

Shipper

Using same quote process I had a shipper picked out and was ready to pull trigger. Then a fellow member on here contacted me with a DM asking about importing own trophies. He gave me the name of his shipper, specifically to YVR, Vancouver BC. I contacted them and received a response next day with same pricing. Company's name is African Legacy Logistics (ALL) and my contact name was Brett Pidduck.

Reading the insurance fine print and knowing what others on here have gone thru I declined any extra insurance and its costs. During quote process I did note fees for same items on both shipper and D&P quotes, both companies quoted and included fees for crating, and paperwork/permits. I questioned this and received clarification. How many people who do not review their paperwork and double pay for items or services? Do importers really review paperwork this close and discover?

When ALL had crate in possession they verified all permits, finding a mistake (paperwork had 1 floating bone, there were 2) this made another 3 week delay for new permit issuance.

FYI, Crate volumetric weight, 108 cm x 75 cm x 128 cm = 172 KG Total without extra insurance all in, shipper and airline shipping Joberg to Vancouver $2100 US

Airline

As my crate contained lion there is only 1 airline available, Turkish air was this carrier. After communicating my availability ALL booked crate for shipping. Route was Joberg to Istanbul then Vancouver.

Turkish air delayed loading 7 times over the next 2 weeks, stating SA citrus bumped my crate. When I questioned ALL about this it seams its common and on fine print of flight contract=lesson learned.. Brent sent me waybill and internet link for Turkish air shipping. This was outstanding, I could see where in world my crate was in real time. Crate had no damage as plastic is almost indestructible.

I never received confirmation from them that they were using and had imputed my crate into Canada’s Electronic Import System (EDI) however as I tracked hrly/daily I informed

CFIA and CSBA of my shipments progress. I would not want to wait for some Gov system for notifications, sounds like an easy excuses for funds.

CBSA and CFIA

I have cleared all but one shipment myself. I will NEVER use an importer again after the one and only time, the Vancouver business owners final bill tripled from his quote. He said the secretary sent original and had no authority too, yes it had his business letter head on top. After some heated conversation he said “you can pay to hunt an elephant you will pay me to get your crate or I will send it to be incinerated”. I reluctantly paid. They still operate in Vancouver with many negative reviews. Never again for me.

As a Canadian my points below will only deal with Canadian importation. I am clueless to US rules and regs. I urge all Canadians self importing to access Gov website, all rules and regulations are listed, although not clearly, takes some digging to get final requirements. There is a program called, AIRS it lists all specie requirements but I could not access to code end I needed company to finalize? I used Gov website for same details. This time I had no swine, bovine or primates so was lucky as they require a specific vet certificate from SA and more regs for importation.

SCI USA and Canada both sent emails to members with a form letter that its members were experiencing issues with hunting trophy imports. I added my remarks and sent the letter to CFIA, I was surprised and impressed to receive a response from the President. I fully agree with his response, trophies are ours, we are the owners, responsibility remains ours, I cannot imagine handing off to an import company and waiting/standing by? For me that would be impossible. If you choose to hire an importer and they fail, I am unsure of the recourse or who takes "blame". Its 2023 very few business’s seam to be running smoothly, today I would expect screw ups, extra costs and time as the norm. As my own importer I am “vigilant” in every step.

I include Gr Kochhar’s response letter below.

Dear Mark B------:

Thank you for your email on August 2, 2023 regarding the importation of animal hunting trophies and their inspection at Canada’s international airports.

My team has followed up with Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) staff at the major ports of entry including Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Edmonton. CFIA personnel generally inspect hunting trophies within three business days of receiving notification of arrival for the import. There may be multiple reasons for which trophy inspections could be delayed including the prioritization of live or perishable shipments, inspection requirements from other government departments (such as Environment and Climate Change Canada), disinfection of the item at an approved third party site, and the use of manual paper entries rather than electronic submissions.

Importers are reminded to look for all requirements listed in the CFIA automated import reference system (AIRS) as it advises that submissions should be sent through the electronic import system EDI / IID. Imports submitted through the electronic import system will facilitate advance notice of the shipment to all impacted government bodies so they can plan inspections prior to the shipment arriving at the border.

I would like to take this opportunity to clarify that importers remain the owners of the products throughout the process and are responsible for understanding all requirements prior to importing the item, as well as monitoring their shipment’s progress. Importers are encouraged to establish communication with the local CFIA office responsible for inspection ahead of the import’s arrival or if there are questions about specific shipments awaiting inspection.

Individual offices and their contact details can be found at Contact a Canadian Food Inspection Agency office by telephone - Canadian Food Inspection Agency (canada.ca).

I appreciate you bringing this matter to my attention.

Sincerely,

Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar

President

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Long before my D&P was ready I contacted CBSA and CFIA confirming legal process and to ensure that Vancouver complies with these. I was assured they did. I again contacted them when I was ready to ship, specifically asking about rules, I also stated my crate was plastic and in accordance with (IAW) CBSA and CFIA regs. My contact at CFIA asked for an electronic copy of all paperwork, this I sent and 2 days later received email confirmation that all permits were “perfect”. When Turkish Air site stated my crate was inbound to Vancouver and would land Thursday evening, I contacted CBSA, they asked me to be in their Vancouver office the next morning.

Friday (next morning) at 1000 I walked up to the front desk of CBSA as the only customer. All permits, crate pics, emails from CFIA and documents were provided for review. Officer took copies, reviewed docs, asked a few questions then completed release form for my crate. 5 mins later I left to get crate at company and place stated.

Upon arrival at warehouse I produced paperwork, paid $180 for airport and their fees, forklift loaded crate and was on my way to ferry home.

Overall Company Thoughts

D&P-Hunters and Collectors

-best competitive quoted prices

-work in Canadian funds

-outstanding fast, detailed answers to all my communications

-did exactly as they stated they would

-D&P of species to the highest standard, met all international requirements

-paperwork very good.

-a joy to work with.

Highly recommend, will be company to beat on future hunts.

Shipper-African Legacy Logistics

-best competitive price

-immediate, next day response every time to all emails

-attention to detail, know every aspect of their business, helping save time and funds for customer

Highly recommend, will be shipper on future hunts.

Airline-Turkish Air

-only airline carrying big 5

-monopoly on market

-costs were not inflated as expected.

-outstanding tracker for shipment

Have to use again unless world changes?

Lessons Learned, Overview/Points

-Be aware D&P costs at outfitter's suggested company was up to 300% higher on some species.

-Ensure apple to apple quote comparisons, included and not included.

-Watch out for double item billing on bills.

-Ask for D&P pics during process.

-H&C cut skulls exactly as wanted, eye sockets and occipital bone remained for correct placement on forms.

-Get tracking site from airline, track and be present for your shipment

-Be respectful, courteous, copies of regs, rules and details from D&P when speaking to officials at CSBA or CFIA. Be professional and seams to be an easy process. This was my 4th without issue.

I hope you enjoyed my post, I am certainly willing to assist, help and love talking to fellow hunters if you need assistance with Canadian importation. Thanks to those on here who I have already received help and or provided assistance to me. United hunters are stronger.

Thanks

Mark B
 

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My hat's off to you. Every time this subject comes up, I cannot believe hunters have not figured out ways to cut out at least some of the middle men that make importation so expensive. Kudos to you!
 

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