DNA test on hunting trophee

Originally Posted by KMG Hunting Safaris

Bliksem!

I agree Marius if a taxidermist sent me trophies like this he would move to the top of my hit list.

Originally Posted by Bobpuckett

I believe this is the Picture BRICKBURN has been trying to load. Tell us about it Wayne

When I saw bart's "trophy" I immediately thought of some taxidermy that I had seen before.

This Leopard or Jaguar had to have been mounted before 1953. The Cuban Revolution.
It was obviously confiscated from some collectors home and then placed in the Museum in Havana Cuba.

Sadly, it bares a striking similarity to the work produced for bart, don't you think?

Bart check your mount to see if it is real teeth and skull that was used to make the mount if it was then it like the Jaguar in BRICKBURNS picture it could be very old as back in the day it was quite common to use the teeth and skull with clay to give it the muscle back and at that time it was considered good taxidermy but not now. it would also prove it to be a very old mount.

So, Bart has just left my shop.

From my point of view I can say the following:

1) It is definitly not an old mount, this one I saw is maximum a few years old. The artificial jawset what was used is a modern - in South Africa produced - one, the base is made from fresh PU-foam, still in good condition and nothing that shows old age, the glas eyes are modern ones. The end of the rods what come through the base are still good and no rust on them.

2) I am 99 % sure that the skins of that mount is from a male caracal. I found typical testical hair that is different to all other hairs: hard to describe but it is like soft short hair, lightly different colored and just typical for the testical part of the skin. It also seems that the taxidermist tried to rebuild the testicals. I havenï½´t found any teats. (Bart said he shot a female!)

3) I looked for characteristic points, in comparison to the pics of the freshly shot caracal. I found some characteristic scars and color patches on the pics but not on that mount, that also showed me a different cat. Another point is that Barts mount is very dark, while the cat he shot is more light.

All in all I have to say the mount itself is not well done and has nothing to do with good quality taxidermy. All over the mount you find rests of glue, painting is made very rough, still paint on the glas eyes, the jawset is set way to far behind in the mouth, the missing long ear-hairs have been replaced with (I think) boar hairs, but just with a big drop of glue. You also find visible clay in many areas. The skin itself is in very bad condition, missing hair all over.

Bart didnï½´t tell me who mounted it, but that doesnï½´t matter to me. I just told my opinion.

I really hope that Bart will find a way out of this problem.

Martin thanks you for your up date on the poor quality mount.

This brings up another point that was talked about last year about hunters receiving different game hides and horns from some African taxidermist or mounts in deplorable condition.

A hunter needs to really look at who is doing your taxidermy work prior to making the trip to Africa and then staying the course on your decision.

Martin,
Thank you for the update my friend. I was sure that your expert knowledge would get to the bottom of the problem. I still have not heard anything from the Cape Buffalo. Will inform you as soon as I hear something.

This is an email i just wrote to his laywer, Eugene Harmse. I will wait for what happens next.

Dear Eugene,

I had the rooikat taken for an expertise, and you were wright, your client can do wonders with a trophee!! He turned a female into a male. Look on the hunting forum if you want to see the context.

I also had a reply from TASA who is looking into the case now. Allthough your client is not a member, they will do their very best to prevent further damage to the good name of South African Taxidermy and will contact him.

Have a nice weekend,

Bart

Originally Posted by Bart

This is an email i just wrote to his laywer, Eugene Harmse. I will wait for what happens next.

Dear Eugene,

I had the rooikat taken for an expertise, and you were wright, your client can do wonders with a trophee!! He turned a female into a male. Look on the hunting forum if you want to see the context.

I also had a reply from TASA who is looking into the case now. Allthough your client is not a member, they will do their very best to prevent further damage to the good name of South African Taxidermy and will contact him.

Have a nice weekend,

Bart

Bart your a gentlemen and a scholar cause I'd had a few more choice words for him. now that you know the truth and this guy and his lawyer doesn't have a leg to stand on, you need to tell the forum members the name of the taxidermist so that non of us or anyone reading this forum will use him. Help protect others from him its hard to do business if no one brings you any.

I cant believe that he even thought of putting his laywers on to send you threatening emails if he know he bull$h!££€d you. I am following this thread just to know who not to use. I am so sorry for you Bart that what was a great experiance had such a terrible turn. But hopefully will end well. On that picture of Brickburn " ugly freakin hyena looking thing"

Best of luck Bart

Sorry things are not going well for you Bart, I hope things work out for you in the end.

Reading this had inspired me to finally post with plenty of pics on my latest Dip/Pack/Tanning done in SA. I didn't have any taxidermy done but at least it may help prevent someone receiving, or worse never receiving, a disgusting greasy skull like that Gemsbok.

Here is the link: (sorry for thread poaching)
http://www.africahunting.com/south-a...html#post77008

As they say in Holland, don't get mad, get even!

The story behind the above picture....

During the discussion about the stolen rooikat trophee i got in contact with a member of this forum who told me i could hunt rooikat with him. It was mr. Rouan Nel from Tsala Safaris (in the picture on the right, on the left his brother Niel). Since the last hunt, i (almost) decided never to hunt in SA again, due to the problems with the taxidermist, but mr. Nel made me an offer i could not resist.

From the beginning of our contact until we were back in Holland, i only had very positive experiences with Tsala Safaris and Rouan and Niel. Excellent food, excellent housing but what really made it special for me were several other items. Rouan and Niel made an extreme effort to make me shoot what i wanted and used every technique (walking, sitting etc) in the book to make my trip unforgettable. And it payed out, in one day i shot the rooikat (see above), a huge black wildebeast (see below) and a stunning bushbuck. The bushbuck was exceptional and will be a full mount in my office for the next 20 years. All animals, except the rooikat, were hunted on the farm of Tsala Safaris in de Limpopo Provence. In between, i shot an impala (25.5") and an impressive Zebra.

What really made a lifetime impression on me was the following. I shot an impala but did not wound it letally due to ricochet on the shoulder blade. After that, Niel, Rouan, I and Gert followed the track for more then three hours through very intensive bushes. This was my ninth hunting trip to SA, but i never witnessed such excellent tracking skills of especially Niel. With only drops of blood and most of the times just tiny feet in the sand or little broken twigs, they tracked it and finished it.

I have dipped and packed the trophees and they will be in Holland in a few months. I will ask Martin (who did the expertise on the former rooikat) if he would do me the honour to make the full mount of the rooikat and maybe the bushbuck too..

I'm so pleased that my last experience was a very positive again to the 10th trip to SA will definitely come. I'm very pleased with the contact i made through the hunting forum and somehow i think it is some kind of insurance for the quality of the trip. Anybody from Europe who wants to hear more details about Tsala Safaris may contact me.

And what about the original story about the rooikat:

- no reaction whatsoever of the taxidermist after it was proven that he stole my original rooikat.
- no reaction anymore from the SA taxidermy association allthough they told me they would look into it

Since the taxidermist is also an PH and outfitter, i will give his name to PHASA and they can decide what to do with the information. I'll dedicate my time to positive things and the last trip really was!!

Glad that you got another cat. Looks beautiful. Your other animals are quite nice. Its good you went again to Africa. Congrats. Bruce

Awesome Bart.
Glad you had help from a forum member and ended up with a very successful hunt.

Do, throw it into a hunt report of its own.

Bart glad you had a happy hunt! Nice animals!

Congratulations Bart, you have the right attitude "Don t get mad, get even".

Nice trophies !

Bart nice for it all to turn around and end up with good feelings. you can tell by the look on your face that you are happy with your hunt, well maybe not in the wildebeest photo, but i dont think you were paying attention to the camera man...