Dip and Pack Companies in Africa

Am I the only one, or does it seem like the dip and pack companies in Africa have a real scam going? After talking to a number of people about hunting in Africa they, to a person, stated that the dip and pack companies are a problem. After a great safari, for many of us a once in a life time deal, our trophies are given over to a nameless faceless company whose only objective seems to be to make as much money as possible. Charging $150 per animal to dip and pack is ridiculous. My trophies were put in a box that was way to large and cost several hundreds of dollars extra to ship to Alaska. They also sent me a tusk that was not from my warthog! It seems that when we try to deal with them all communication stops. We have no recourse. What can be done? How can this system be improved? :confused: It has left me with a very sour taste in my mouth!!!

You have a simpathetic ear here....I can't disagree with you. I wish I could move to South Africa and open a taxidermy shop....lets put it this way the tables would turn. There would be fair pricing, shipping and communication!!!

Alaskahunter, did you pay that pay $150 per animal irrespective of the size of the animal? That is a lot! None of the companies I recommend to my clients charge that much and both of them are very reputable with a great track record. Also; I feel that having trophies passed on to nameless, faceless people is unacceptable. Dipping/shipping companies should send a representative to your camp, introduce themselves to you and explain all costs and processes. (Or your Outfitter should take you to them).

I felt like I had to pay it. I was leaving and went in to settle up and was told here is who we use and this is the cost. I really felt at their mercy. I should have asked ahead of time but I didn't. Shame on me! In reality, what's a guy to do? Of course we want our trophies back!

I really don't think there is any excuse for losing a huge warthog! They are hard to find and kill in the first place. I wish I could say it happens just once in a while...but I've heard a lot of problems with warthogs.

It's getting hard to not think about just taking pics and putting the $$$ towards another hunt.

I'm fortunate to be friends with a very good taxidermist,although he doesn't work for free.Even then next trip maybe light on things to come home.

I'm lucky enough to live near NYC so I may try raw skins by ocean next time,if I keep some.


Hmmm,makes you think.

It all starts with the outfitter and the PH. If they do a good job of tagging the trophies you shouldn't have a problem with getting the wrong trophies when they ship. The taxidermist they use to pack / dip and ship the trophies through also is the responsibility of the outfitter and PH.

They should be smart enough to assure that they are using a responsible enough taxidermist who is charging a reasonable price to handle the pack and dip.

If they haven't figured out that happy clients mean repeat clients they won't stay in business long. That means assuring that the client gets good service at a reasonable cost.

I would also say that you should talk to your taxidermist in the states and find out who does a good job with pack / dip and shipping. They should know who does a good job and who doesn't.

I will say that the taxidermists taht I use in Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa do a fantastic job and a very reasonable price.

I feel your pain.
My problem was not with the dip part of it. Swift dip quoted pricing per animal from camp to the airport. Everything went fine. When i recieved pricing for airfrieght. It was twice the quoted price. When i asked about the cost the line of communication went silent.

I forgot to mention that after taking my blesbok horns off the core they drilled holes in the horns to tie them together so they wouldn't become separated.

There are so many people doing the dip and pack thing in South Africa that I find it hard to believe that so many guys could have trouble at the Africa-end of the deal. We often have trouble in Australia as our customs and quarantine service think they're gods gift to CITES and I have had to argue over Burchell's versus Hartmann's yet they can't tell a black-faced impala from the common.

I was referred to Universal Trophy Service in Pretoria on my first safari and would not consider changing. Rupert Dedekind is a nice guy and runs an excellent workshop. I have my skins tanned in RSA as green skins are impossible to get through quarantine over here. For around $200 for any of the large antelope, I get the cape tanned ready for mounting, the skull and horns cleaned up and bleached along with any other bones I want, and the backskin tanned for use on furniture, etc. I paid $320 for a cape buffalo, same treatment. This is less than half what I would pay at home.

The packing is fantastic. I can't believe what they squeeze into a little crate, and when it came to airfreight, I cross quoted them with a local forwarder that I do business with and they were 30% cheaper!

On subsequent trips, I don't care who "they use", my trophies go to Rupert. Maybe you're just going to all of the wrong places? UTS can be contacted on +27 12 811 0655.