Trophy's just about ready to ship. Need advice on clearing at San Francisco

I would appreciate any help on the necessary steps to pick up and clear mine and my adult sons trophy's in two crates. Can I pick up his crate without a power of attorney? Do I need to call ahead to make appointments with customs or anybody? Steps 1-2-3 How is it to get around in the San Fran airport with a 25' trailer? What terminal or building do I go to? Thanks if you can help.

Hagar:
I'll ask a couple of questions:

Which airline is it booked on?
This will determine the cargo warehouse that it arrives at.
You may not really be anywhere too close to the airport proper.

Can't say whether customs will let you pick up another parties cargo.
it would make sense that you could though. (it is better to be paranoid though)

Brickburn,
Thank you for the reply. I just sent an e-mail to the shipper SBS Logistics asking for info on the shipment. They have not received the crates from the Taxidermist yet but should soon. They did send us a quote thru Black Bear Taxidermy but no airline was listed. I will post more info as I receive it. I just want to be as prepared as possible.
Thanks for you help.

SFO - San Francisco International Airport - frequently asked questions
FAQ
Where do I pick up or drop off a cargo shipment?
Cargo pick up and drop off procedures and locations vary by airline. For complete instructions, please contact the cargo office of your selected carrier.

So, the warehouse will be somewhere attached to the airport. I doubt you will have any issues moving that trailer around in a cargo lot.



In the event they just give you an air weigh bill number this will let you look up who they carrier is and then you can get the local airport contact and talk to them about what they want from you.
aircargo tracking online by airwaybill - lots of airlines

CBP San Francisco Contact Info:

Port Of Entry - San Francisco International Airport

Blurb on Hunting trophies from their site:
Animal hunting trophies, game animal carcasses, and hides are severely restricted.
To find out specifics and how to arrange to bring them into the United States, contact USDA/APHIS Veterinary Services, National Center for Import and Export (NCIE) at (301) 734-3277, via email at: AskNCIE.Products@aphis.usda.gov
or VS-Live.Animals_Import.Permits@aphis.usda.gov or
on the Web at Veterinary Services - Safeguarding Animal Health (Import/Export) ( Veterinary Services )

This is the wizard in San Francisco for the USDA:
USDA - APHIS - Import

San Francisco (L)
Dr. Gary Chun
USDA-APHIS-VS
389 Oyster Point Blvd, Suite 2
San Francisco, CA 94080
(650) 876-9358 Office
(650) 876-9008 Fax


Have fun.

Brickburn,
THANK YOU. Thats great info. That will keep me busy for a bit.

Welcome. Have fun.

Hagar,

PM sent

I found this attached pdf document on the USDA/APHIS site (www.aphis.usda.gov), it's their reference manual for handling trophies and animal products... Good information here.

Libertarian,
Thanks, Lots of info in this site.

SBS Logistics did a great job for me. Very good communication.

As for clearing them yourself, the above info is very good and I know a few of the guys on this site have cleared shippments themselves, I used Town Air Freight and had them delivered. As for power of attorney for your sons crate, I guess I would aire on the side of caution and just fill one our to avoid any possible roadblocks.

35bore,
Thanks for the response. After hearing all the horror stories we decided to go with Coppersmith to clear the shipment. We are getting a price from them to deliver from San Fran to Utah.

Tell us how it goes.

Hello Brickburn,
I will post back how this all shakes out. It may help someone. One big thing I have learned from my first Safari is
"Africa Time" much different than ours.