REPORT: Disappointed with Taxidermy by Wild Africa Taxidermy

I have asked Wild Africa for an explanation to be posted here on this thread. I'm off again tomorrow with two AH members until the 19th, then off to Zim on the 20th with another AH member until August 1st, but will ask my wife, Kim, to keep a close eye on the outcome. She will keep me updated with what's happening, answering emails and messages.

All the best Gentleman and,
Take Care
Marius

Sorry to hear about your mounts. Now I'm a bit concerned, as I too have work pending with Wild Africa. Luckily, my three shoulder mounts are being done by Wildlife Gallery here in the US, but I do have one duiker skull mount being done by them. Hopefully they come out ok.

Marius did tell me that he checks all finished products from his clients before they ship, and he does withold a small percentage of money from them until they ship.

I'll be watching this thread close. Please keep us informed about how Wild Africa and KMG handles this one.

The checking of the crates is a service that we started this year. By doing this, we can ensure that our guests' trophies are of a high standard when they leave our country, and to stop instances like this happening.

"Please keep us informed about how Wild Africa and KMG handles this one."

This statement bothers me though, as it seems as if KMG has done something wrong. We have no affiliation with any taxidermy, and any of our guests may use who they want.
What disturbs me the most is that we work our butts off for our guests and then a trip can be ruined by an outside source, which now puts a blemish on my name. Hardly fair.

Best Regards,
Marius Goosen

I agree it is not fair, but expectations are always high.

To any outfitter though that collects a recommendation fee from the taxidermist well.......your hands are dirty.

Enysse,
I completely agree. I, now insist on keeping a part of the taxidermy deposit in order to have leverage towards the taxidermist, should something go wrong. Far too often, do we read about instances where taxidermists have delivered poor service, animals/skins go missing etc and the hunter sitting in his own country with his hands tied.
As a value added service to our guests, we decided that once the crate is ready for shipment, I will inspect the crate, and once I am happy after inspection, only then can they can seal it. The taxidermist can then invoice me for the outstanding amount. If he's not happy about doing this, then either he does not back up his own work, or he has something to hide.
Those who have hunted with me knows that I am borderline obsessive compulsive about my reputation, so hate it when things like this pops up, even if it is out of our own hands.
Unfortunately for the outfitter, no matter which taxidermy the client chooses to use, the outfitter will always be mentioned when things go wrong, no matter how good his service was. By taking the steps of inspecting our hunters' crates and withholding full payment of the taxidermy until we, KMG, are satisfied with the work, we feel that we can cut the chances of these types of occurrences happening to our guests.
Unfortunately for Frank, we only started offering this services to our guests' whose crates are leaving this year.

KMG, you are an honest and an outfitter who cares about your reputation and your clients, and your clients are not just a number after the hunt, commend you for your new procedure. My trip was great and had I great time with my outfitter, unfortunately it got tarnished at the end by the dissapointed service I received from Highveld/Oxi Logistics.

Sounds like a good idea Marius, maybe other outfutters will do the same and make the taxi's wake up. As a professional taxidermist I seen good work from Africa but to much sub standard work!

We received an email from AH last week, however, did not know who the client was at the time and immediately started looking into the matter. We received an email from the client over the weekend and have been in contact with him.

Glad to hear you are working on the issue with the clients.

Better late than never to address your customers concerns. A 20 month wait to get poor quality work deserves a refund! Period!

WALKINGPREY2 said:

Andrew Pringle of Crusader Safaris recommends using African Wildlife Artistry and that is who is currently mounting our trophies from the hunting group I was with. I have not seen them yet, so I cannot speak from my perspective. I understand they are almost completed. Here is their website. They are located in Port Elizabeth. http://www.africanwildlifeartistry.co.za/ I'll post photos as soon as I see something.

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Rudolf of African wildlife artistry is very meticulous with his mounts. I also recommend him. He is based out of Somerset East but collects from all EC operators
Regards
Dave

LeopardsValleySafaris said:

Rudolf of African wildlife artistry is very meticulous with his mounts. I also recommend him. He is based out of Somerset East but collects from all EC operators
Regards
Dave

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That is good to hear, Dave. Just waiting for the arrival of the seven animals I hunted with Crusaders. I'm told they are on their way. I'm not just a little concerned. As for Wild Africa....I will have more to say once I hear that my kudu and zebra have been properly dipped and then shipped here to the U.S. I had a chance to visit Wild Africa on two occasions when I was in Port Alfred where they are located.

We have 2 issues at play.

1. Client hunting with KMG
a. Safari animals and good to great safari
b. Trophy delivered to Taxidermy of customers choice.

2. Customer consigned taxidermy work to be completed with Wild African Taxidermy.
a. Completed work not to customers expectations.

KGM, unless they are part owner in Wild Africa Taxidermy is out of the loop and should not be held accountable for work performed outside there control.

Marius has taken a additional step in checking his clients taxidermy work that is being performed in Africa. Who else is doing this additional work for their customers. Doing a check of work completed does not make Marius responsible for the work that was performed.

I will stand with Marius on this.

Red Leg said:

I always have capes shipped back to the US to a taxidermist I trust. The whole process from hunt to wall is a tad longer, but I know where my guy lives Like Brickburn, I agree that the good news is this is a pretty easy fix. I know you can get another springbok cape - I would start with Marius - and let a US taxidermist mount it. If the euros will easily come of the plaques, set them in flat pans and then tightly pack cotton wadding around them, being careful to keep it below the bottom edge of the horn. The resulting packed material only needs to be 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Then get plain old over the counter Hydrogen Peroxide and thoroughly moisten the wadding. Let it sit for 24 hours, remove, allow to dry, and you should have even, brilliantly white sculls.

Or call Matt above!

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No hydrogen peroxide won't do anything in this case. From the way he has described that impala skull I am 99.9% certain it needs to be degreased. Hydrogen peroxide especially at weaker concentrations isn't really a degreaser. Degreasing is even easier put the skull in water mixed with dishing washing detergent ideally put in an aquarium heater and keep the water at about 90F or 30C and change it when it gets cloudy. Or just keep at room temperature, exact same effect it will just take longer for it to be done.

The good news is that if the bone isn't flaking the skull itself isn't damaged it just hasn't been completed- degreasing is a crucial stage in skull cleaning and when that many taxidermists both in North America and abroad overlook or omit. My advice is to find someone who specializes in skull cleaning and have them finish up this skull for you- it shouldn't cost you more than $100 or so which is probably peanuts to what the hunt, airfare, shipping, brokerage/custom fees etc... cost.

The thing is when it comes to European mounts you have no choice but to have them defleshed in Africa- you cannot bring them into the US raw. The problem is that virtually all African taxidermists boil the skulls and in most cases boil the hell out of them and then bleach them using chlorine bleach, which further degrades already damaged bone. But as long as the bone isn't damaged, a little grease isn't a problem because as I said earlier its not damage, the process just needs to be finished and it really doesn't cost much to have it professionally done.

Red Leg said:

I always have capes shipped back to the US to a taxidermist I trust. The whole process from hunt to wall is a tad longer, but I know where my guy lives Like Brickburn, I agree that the good news is this is a pretty easy fix. I know you can get another springbok cape - I would start with Marius - and let a US taxidermist mount it. If the euros will easily come of the plaques, set them in flat pans and then tightly pack cotton wadding around them, being careful to keep it below the bottom edge of the horn. The resulting packed material only needs to be 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. Then get plain old over the counter Hydrogen Peroxide and thoroughly moisten the wadding. Let it sit for 24 hours, remove, allow to dry, and you should have even, brilliantly white sculls.

Or call Matt above!

Click to expand...

No hydrogen peroxide won't do anything in this case. From the way he has described that impala skull I am 99.9% certain it needs to be degreased. Hydrogen peroxide especially at weaker concentrations isn't really a degreaser. Degreasing is even easier put the skull in water mixed with dishing washing detergent ideally put in an aquarium heater and keep the water at about 90F or 30C and change it when it gets cloudy. Or just keep at room temperature, exact same effect it will just take longer for it to be done.

The good news is that if the bone isn't flaking the skull itself isn't damaged it just hasn't been completed- degreasing is a crucial stage in skull cleaning and when that many taxidermists both in North America and abroad overlook or omit. My advice is to find someone who specializes in skull cleaning and have them finish up this skull for you- it shouldn't cost you more than $100 or so which is probably peanuts to what the hunt, airfare, shipping, brokerage/custom fees etc... cost.

The thing is when it comes to European mounts you have no choice but to have them defleshed in Africa- you cannot bring them into the US raw. The problem is that virtually all African taxidermists boil the skulls and in most cases boil the hell out of them and then bleach them using chlorine bleach, which further degrades already damaged bone. But as long as the bone isn't damaged, a little grease isn't a problem because as I said earlier its not damage, the process just needs to be finished and it really doesn't cost much to have it professionally done.

James.Grage said:

We have 2 issues at play.

1. Client hunting with KMG
a. Safari animals and good to great safari
b. Trophy delivered to Taxidermy of customers choice.

2. Customer consigned taxidermy work to be completed with Wild African Taxidermy.
a. Completed work not to customers expectations.

KGM, unless they are part owner in Wild Africa Taxidermy is out of the loop and should not be held accountable for work performed outside there control.

Marius has taken a additional step in checking his clients taxidermy work that is being performed in Africa. Who else is doing this additional work for their customers. Doing a check of work completed does not make Marius responsible for the work that was performed.

I will stand with Marius on this.

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+1 it's not Marius's fault. I have also recommended taxidermists that have performed really great and then they drop the ball.

It is really unfortunate that something like this happens as it sours the whole Safari experience.

Wild Africa was owned by Don Reeve who owned Matabeleland taxidermy in Bulawayo Zimbabwe. He then tried to leave Zim by opening up Wild Africa taxidermy. He unfortunately passed away a few years ago and Karl Human taxidermy from East London bought it.

What sorts out the good businesses from the GREAT businesses is how are they going to fix it.
Regards
Dave

I agree, how a company solves customer complaints is a true measure of a companies core values.

sincitynut said:

After enjoying a wonderful hunt with Marius Goosen and KMG Safari's in 2012, my hunting partner Bruce and I FINALLY got our trophies back today! YES TODAY!!!! Almost 20 months later. After unloading the crate at
Bruce's house, I brought my trophies home to take the final wrapping off in anticipation of seeing my beautiful trophies, boy was I ever DISAPPOINTED!!!!!
I had 2 European mounts done, my Blesbok and an Impala, and 1 shoulder mount done which was my Springbok.

Our taxidermy work was done by Wild Africa Taxidermy and I will NEVER use them again!!!! My shoulder mount looked as if a 6 year old had done the stitching up the back of the neck and across the shoulder, I was absolutely horrified. The European mount for my Impala, had a yellow tint on both sides of the nose almost like a dark patch about 2"x 3 or 4" in size. I will upload pictures tomorrow so everyone can see what I mean. This has really put a damper on my wanting to go back to Africa. I loved hunting with KMG and they did a wonderful job, but the taxidermy and shipping leave ALOT to be desired.

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Thanks for the information. You have probably helped a lot of hunters, by having the courage to post this note.
Maybe it is best to get the work done in North America. Two out three of my taxidermist experiences in South Africa were bad. Bullseye Taxidermist was excellent. Brian

PS. I guess that I better warn folks that I have had a terrible experience with Trophex Taxidery. 'nuff said, Brian

I was the initial poster and I can state without a doubt, that KMG Safari's is a first class outfit and is totally blameless in any problem that has arisen with Wild Africa. Marius and Kim have been wonderful in trying to sort this out. Wild Africa on the other hand, has been totally useless. I sent the required pictures and they kept asking for more. I have not heard anything from them at all. My emails do not go through and I cannot get anyone on the telephone. I sent the pictures to Marius along with my emails so he could drop them off personally to Wild Africa and still no response. I have written it off as a learning experience and will never do business with Wild Africa Taxidermy Again.

My hunting partner Bruce and I still plan to hunt with KMG again, we had such a wonderful time with them that we still talk about the experience as if it were yesterday. I highly recommend KMG to anyone wishing to hunt in South Africa, they are a first class, top notch outfit.

sincitynut said:

I was the initial poster and I can state without a doubt, that KMG Safari's is a first class outfit and is totally blameless in any problem that has arisen with Wild Africa. Marius and Kim have been wonderful in trying to sort this out. Wild Africa on the other hand, has been totally useless. I sent the required pictures and they kept asking for more. I have not heard anything from them at all. My emails do not go through and I cannot get anyone on the telephone. I sent the pictures to Marius along with my emails so he could drop them off personally to Wild Africa and still no response. I have written it off as a learning experience and will never do business with Wild Africa Taxidermy Again.

My hunting partner Bruce and I still plan to hunt with KMG again, we had such a wonderful time with them that we still talk about the experience as if it were yesterday. I highly recommend KMG to anyone wishing to hunt in South Africa, they are a first class, top notch outfit.

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Good comment. Useful info. Thanks, Brian