Elephant U.S. Import Permit Approved!!!!

Excellent news. My ivory just hit the US port last week.
 
Great to hear and thanks for posting. This was going to be one of my questions to you. I will follow suit if things work out
 
The key as stated is an operator who will follow through with paperwork and additional questions from USFWS (often about conservation in the hunt area) and a facilitator like Conservation Force who will work the system and stay with it until it's finished. That's what I did and got my Zim import ivory permit in about 6 months. Timelines will vary depending on country, species, etc. I know several guys waiting on their Marco Polo import permits for 18 months plus.
 
Rare breed Liesl received your e-mail today. I am so happy everything went so smooth, there was one small glich, but that is all it takes the question was how do you age a elephant when it is alive?

The new hunter saw 17 bulls today with one very big Hwange bull, tomorrow.

Lon
Good luck tomorrow!
 
Scott that was your +70 pounder? I know all of us would love to see them when they go in your home!!!!!
Yes that’s correct. Last night I unpacked the crate and the tusks are now just laying on the carpet in my great room. Now that they are here, I’m having a local guy make me two wood bases for them. They will stand up on either side of the fireplace is the plan.

IMG_4853.jpeg


I laid the fiberglass replicas that Debbie Peake of Botswana made me earlier on top of the real tusks. Wow, an exact match because she made a mold of the real tusks for the replicas! The real tusks are a slight shade darker and more shiny but she did a fantastic job molding and painting the replicas.
 
What a photo. For a second I thought, he took 2 of that size?!?
 
Yes that’s correct. Last night I unpacked the crate and the tusks are now just laying on the carpet in my great room. Now that they are here, I’m having a local guy make me two wood bases for them. They will stand up on either side of the fireplace is the plan.

View attachment 629942

I laid the fiberglass replicas that Debbie Peake of Botswana made me earlier on top of the real tusks. Wow, an exact match because she made a mold of the real tusks for the replicas! The real tusks are a slight shade darker and more shiny but she did a fantastic job molding and painting the replicas.
Out of curiosity, do you remember the cost on the replicas?
 
Yes that’s correct. Last night I unpacked the crate and the tusks are now just laying on the carpet in my great room. Now that they are here, I’m having a local guy make me two wood bases for them. They will stand up on either side of the fireplace is the plan.

View attachment 629942

I laid the fiberglass replicas that Debbie Peake of Botswana made me earlier on top of the real tusks. Wow, an exact match because she made a mold of the real tusks for the replicas! The real tusks are a slight shade darker and more shiny but she did a fantastic job molding and painting the replicas.
Superb set of tusks, which block did you take this tusker in? May have missed an earlier report!
 
Superb set of tusks, which block did you take this tusker in? May have missed an earlier report!
Thanks!

 
I also received good news today. I applied on my own through the US fish and wildlife e permits page.

I would have used Conservation Force, but I was worried it would cause an extra delay, and I had a pretty good handle on the requirements.

Now let's see how long it takes for the shippers to get their act together on the South Africa side. I had the South Africa export permit before I applied for the US import permit.
 
I also received good news today. I applied on my own through the US fish and wildlife e permits page.

I would have used Conservation Force, but I was worried it would cause an extra delay, and I had a pretty good handle on the requirements.

Now let's see how long it takes for the shippers to get their act together on the South Africa side. I had the South Africa export permit before I applied for the US import permit.
NICE!!!!!
 
WOW!!! What can I say...both Tokoloshe and Conservation Force are truly exceptional!!!! I got my elephant this past April just 4 months ago and just got my U.S. Import approval!!!! For those of you who have asked here is what you need:
1. A great outfitter like Tokoloshe who can provide all the paperwork backup needed.
2. An experienced agency like Conservation Force who has the experience and can do all the paperwork needed.

I had the above two points covered before I even took the hunt. For those of you who have asked me Conservation Force charged me $2,500 for their service which is so well worth it!!!!!
$3500 now is what I paid CF
 
I paid $2500 last Nov to CF and got my tusks here last month. That was from Zim. Each country has different backlogs.
 
I would say their approval rate has a lot to do with your outfitter being able to properly answer all of US Custom's questions. My Zim outfitter had to go back in and provide a LOT more detail after the first round of answers. If US Customs doesn't think there is enough conservation efforts from the area you took Ivory from, you will have issues. I'm not saying I agree with this...US Customs shouldn't have the right to say they know more about a conservation plan in another country than that country. Namibia doesn't try to tell Kentucky how to manage their whitetails.
 
Congratulations. Beautiful ivory.

I got my leopard import permit yesterday. Around 34 day turnaround from efiling. Fairly quick. No drama…

Happy hunting, TheGrayRider a/k/a Tom.
 
I would say their approval rate has a lot to do with your outfitter being able to properly answer all of US Custom's questions. My Zim outfitter had to go back in and provide a LOT more detail after the first round of answers. If US Customs doesn't think there is enough conservation efforts from the area you took Ivory from, you will have issues. I'm not saying I agree with this...US Customs shouldn't have the right to say they know more about a conservation plan in another country than that country. Namibia doesn't try to tell Kentucky how to manage their whitetails.
I believe you mean USFWS, not US Customs?
 

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