Do Not Use Safari Specialty Importers

Rem280 said:
I used SSI for my South Africa hunt in 2024. Wyatt was fine and trophies arrived last month, Splitting Image took a while. Had a Caracal and Warthog in the crate. No complaints.
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Same here. I am certainly NOT calling anyone here a liar, but I dealt with Wyatt 2X already and he couldn't have been any nicer and efficient
 
Shakka said:
Same here. I am certainly NOT calling anyone here a liar, but I dealt with Wyatt 2X already and he couldn't have been any nicer and efficient
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I’ve used SSI at least 4 times now under Wyatt’s ownership.
SSI definitely had some growing pains (I know because one of my shipments was quite literally at the center of their issues), but Wyatt admitted them and handled the challenges. I’m still continuing to use SSI and as we speak I have an Elephant/Leopard/Buffalo + PG shipment leaving Zim in a few days
 
He has done many for me. Most recent was my shipment from Hungary which as usual was without issue. He is currently all over our pending shipment from Argentina for which we are receiving regular updates - and it is one that is progressing far faster than I had anticipated.
 
Tanks said:
When did you shoot them? I am on year 3 for my Zim elephant, still no permit.
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Elephant was 2023 - my issue was with the Elephant Permit. I have my theories on what happened, others have theirs (I’m more than happy to discuss via PM or call). Once Wyatt discovered the issue and what it was, the permit was approved by USFWS in 30ish days.

Leopard was from my Elephant/Leopard hunt April (Leopard on Easter Sunday) 2026 - USFWS Permit was done by Jerad of Adventure Permits. From date of submission to USFWS Approval was 7 days or something. It was the same week.

We’ve been dragging our feet on the 2023 Elephant trying to let a Zebra rug from April of this year finish to combine all the hunts into a single clearing (multiple crates).

Did SSI do your Zim Elephant permit or did someone else? I’ve heard of other permits from that timeframe taking a while with other permit specialists not just SSI. Again, if you want to discuss, send me a PM. I can get you Jerad’s cell phone, I have direct contact info to the examiner for my Zim Elephant (I believe they’re 1 of 2 for Zim Elephants) and they were VERY helpful with mine.
 
what did everyone decide here on Wyatt , go or no go?
 
daawg1963 said:
what did everyone decide here on Wyatt , go or no go?
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I don't think you are going to get a strict go or no go consensus. I believe there are problems with almost all the importers right now.

I also think it sounds like SSI specifically had some issues at least for a while.

When I have looked into using them they were a bit higher priced than others and from what I was told they would be getting my items into a port around NY and then additional freight to me VS using an importer with a closer office/port.
 
Sabre said:
I don't think you are going to get a strict go or no go consensus. I believe there are problems with almost all the importers right now.

I also think it sounds like SSI specifically had some issues at least for a while.

When I have looked into using them they were a bit higher priced than others and from what I was told they would be getting my items into a port around NY and then additional freight to me VS using an importer with a closer office/port.
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No storage fee as they have their own warehouse. Something to consider
 
daawg1963 said:
what did everyone decide here on Wyatt , go or no go?
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From what I know almost all of the issues involved SSI filing for Cites Permits on Lion, Leopard and Elephant. They performed this service at zero additional cost to the customer who they were importing for. They’ve internally made the decision to no longer file USFWS Cites paperwork and allow someone else who does that fulltime handle the process. That means someone like Conservation Force, Adventure Permits, etc.

Many people like myself and @Red Leg will continue to utilize Wyatt, but ultimately you need to make the decision that’s best for you. I like the peace of mind knowing there won’t be any storage fees.
 
Mtn_Infantry said:
I like the peace of mind knowing there won’t be any storage fees.
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When you say there are no storage fees, can you clarify something for me?

When a shipment comes into its first port of entry, it needs to be inspected before it can leave the airport storage. If it has a follow on airport location (such as ATL then to Chicago) it accrues no airport storage fees for the time it is at its first port, ATL, waiting for inspection. When it gets to Chicago, the importer can than pick it up the same day. However, if it comes into its final port first, like Chicago or NY, or ATL, and isn't moving on. The airport charges storage fees while it waits for inspection before an importer is allowed to pick it up. Even if that importer has a bonded warehouse.

So does SSI just offer a flat rate and they eat that storage fee expecting it to average out over many clients?

I know when I looked into them for my most recent shipment; them and the taxidermist I was using offered a "flat rate" option where there would be no "surprise costs". That flat rate option was about $1,000 higher than other import/ship/export options. But, I'm guessing that extra is to cover their airline storage fees.
 
I've used SSI 3 times with basically no problems.
The only issue was my second shipment a couple years ago. a muntjac and cwd from England that sat in New York for an unusually long time. Almost 6 months if I remember correctly. Was starting to think it got lost.
Last shipment from Denmark a couple months ago only sat 6 weeks.
 
I rarely post but felt compelled to put my experiences with Wyatt out there...

I first used Wyatt getting my trophies home from Congo-Brazzaville (2019) and then subsequently used him to get trophies from Ethiopia (2021). On both trips I thought Wyatt did an good job. He was responsive and quick to handle any issues that arose.

Fast forward to 2024, I headed to Mozambique and was fortunate enough to take a leopard. Admittedly, getting trophies home from Mozambique is more complicated since they must route through South Africa. But I understood that issue and it is not where things fell apart with Wyatt. Things fell apart because he was no longer responsive. He would not respond to calls, emails, or texts for days or weeks, or sometimes not at all. And then there was the CITES permit...

When I could get him to respond, it was excuse after excuse. Government shutdown, backlog, meetings with USF&W to address the issues, traveling out of the country and will address upon return, etc. By late 2025, Wyatt assured me he was making progress and that my application status was "in the step immediately before approval". With no further updates, I headed to Nashville SCI and made a stop at USF&W booth. They were happy to help me investigate and when I told them I was working with Wyatt, they looked at each other in horror. Turns out that there was no application with my name on it. It was just a string of lies.

Wyatt has, and still does have, many happy clients. But from my perspective, there has clearly been a change in his service over the past year or two. In my opinion, there are more reliable companies out there for handling trophies and CITES. My leopard CITES debacle was cleared up by Jerad Dabney (Adventure Permits) within a few weeks and my leopard is now safely at the taxidermist.
 
Mtn_Infantry said:
From what I know almost all of the issues involved SSI filing for Cites Permits on Lion, Leopard and Elephant. They performed this service at zero additional cost to the customer who they were importing for. They’ve internally made the decision to no longer file USFWS Cites paperwork and allow someone else who does that fulltime handle the process. That means someone like Conservation Force, Adventure Permits, etc.

Many people like myself and @Red Leg will continue to utilize Wyatt, but ultimately you need to make the decision that’s best for you. I like the peace of mind knowing there won’t be any storage fees.
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My first cruise and went with SSI as they were a friend of a friend. Bradley was my contact along with Wyatt. This is my first cruise and what I’m reading concerns me. My stuff is still in RSA and wondering if I should bail. Can only imagine what changing importers could cause.
 
Bushog said:
My first cruise and went with SSI as they were a friend of a friend. Bradley was my contact along with Wyatt. This is my first cruise and what I’m reading concerns me. My stuff is still in RSA and wondering if I should bail. Can only imagine what changing importers could cause.
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What troubles me the most out of what PAGuardian said, is that Wyatt stopped responding to his calls and emails. Now maybe PA has been hounding him with constant calls etc (I am NOT saying that you are doing this PAG!) but even if that's what he did, there is no excuse for ceasing communications with a paying customer....that's why I think its a good idea for Wyatt to chime in here. Let's hear his comments on this matter

As far as bailing, that's a tough call. Has he been answering your calls? What is your feeling on what he is saying to you?

Like I said before, I never met him before, but he imported my Leopard Buffalo, and Croc over 2 trips and he was awesome

Who knows
 
Shakka said:
If any of you are in touch with Wyatt, I think it would be a good idea for him to post here and give us his side of these issues, and clear things up
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Wyatt isn’t allowed to post on AH under SSI because he’s not a sponsor and has no desire to pay a sponsorship without a quantified ROI.
His personal AH handle is monitored/restricted by the mods for the same reason and some previous posts have been deleted or removed.

Everyone who’s had a positive experience or negative experience revolving their Cites Permits has heard Wyatt’s side of the story. Not trying to argue what was told to each person, I only know what happened with my permit and how it was resolved. I know SCI investigated mine because I was interviewed multiple times. Prior to that SSI made an internal decision to stop filing cites permits with USFWS as it took too much of their bandwidth AND all of their business was done on the customs side since that was an added bonus they offered for free (Conservation Force charges something like $3500, and you still need to pay SSI, Coppersmith, Flora & Fauna, or whoever).

@Bushog in all instances I heard during the interviews and SCI hearing, every issue involved CITES permit Big 5 animals with USFWS. All seemed to be from a similar period of time in 2024. I’d suggest reaching out to Bradley/Wyatt expressing your concerns and seeing what they say or do and make a decision from there.

Anyone considering utilizing SSI for a hunt is welcome to PM me. I’ll share Wyatt’s contact info, also willing to share the issues I experienced and why I continue to use SSI. I’ve used another importer and had issues as well. I’m sure @Red Leg would be willing to do the same.
 
Thanks…I do have a giraffe which I understand requires a CITES permit. Wyatt responded to my most recent emails…. Here we are…
 
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