A wake-up call for you people planning to go to Mozambique for hunting

[Hallgeir Gravråk]

A wakeup call for those who are planning to go to Mozambique for hunting,

Be sure to get the trophy export fee from your outfitter.

You will surely get a big surprise at the price as the only company to arrange export and import and shipping out of Mozambique is EMIAC and they know how to get paid,

To get one trophy out of Mozambique and into South Africa then expect that it will cost you about USD2500 - the normal is under half of this, so now you are warned, I would be very carefull to go to Mozambique for hunting .

Me and my buddy each have our buffalo that we will have from Mozambique and to taxidermist in South Africa, we have each received our invoice at a sounding 1250 USD and after about 6 months we will receive another invoice amounted for 1250USD to get it into South Africa.

 

[Bivy]

Hello Hallgeir,

I recently received my 2018 Mozambique animals processed through EMIAC. Based on my invoice, the price per animal was slightly higher than RSA or Namibia preparation, but the additional expenses (certifications, transport, etc.) added to the price. What I discovered was that preparation of 2 animals or 5 animals had a negligible difference. I should have brought more trophy money!

My payment was also broken into two deposits. However, the first payment included transportation to Jo-burg, and the second payment was Jo-berg to USA (this was provided initially as an estimate. You may want to check your invoice to see if this is the case. That would certainly make the $2500 easier to swallow!

I believe may total cost from outfitter to clearing agent via EMIAC for ~$1700 for 1-Eland and 1-Buffalo.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Monopoly.

Botswana has the same "problem."

 

[Red Leg]

I spent two weeks there on my last hunt and as Bivy notes numbers of trophies reduce the per animal cost. Also, virtually nothing is shipped from Mozambique (hunting or otherwise unless it is going to China). Almost everything transits South Africa. That there is an additional cost, should not be surprising. Frankly, I was pleased it wasn’t worse for buff, eland, and a collection of eight additional PG species. Finally, EMIAC was extraordinarily efficient in working the export - from a country that barely qualifies as a member of the third world.

 

[BigSteve57]

Sooooo...skip hunting in Mozambique. Got it.

 

[Red Leg]

Sooooo...skip hunting in Mozambique. Got it.

It is a function of the perceived value of the experience. For me, it seemed a reasonable expense for closing out a hunt in one of the truly wild bits of Africa still remaining. Enough so, that I have been twice. Others may have a different view.

 

[spike.t]

I spent two weeks there on my last hunt and as Bivy notes numbers of trophies reduce the per animal cost. Also, virtually nothing is shipped from Mozambique (hunting or otherwise unless it is going to China). Almost everything transits South Africa. That there is an additional cost, should not be surprising. Frankly, I was pleased it wasn’t worse for buff, eland, and a collection of eight additional PG species. Finally, EMIAC was extraordinarily efficient in working the export - from a country that barely qualifies as a member of the third world.

Must agree that they were very efficient with some trophies shipped to Zambia. And excellent communication whole way through. ...

 

[Scott CWO]

Yes, it is more expensive but as others have noted, it gets cheaper per animal if you take more animals.

 

[Hallgeir Gravråk]

I must say, if the operator had informed us about the cost of exporting the trophies, we would not going to Mozambique, we would for sure chosen a another hunting destination.
A friend of me spent 10 days in Zambia, shot a buffalo and Bushbuck, the fee was 1000USD, it`s a different.
The operator did not talk about this at all, and we didn`t ask, because we tought that it as the same as in South Africa, this time we are trapped.
But, we learned a lesson this time also.

 

[BigSteve57]

It is a function of the perceived value of the experience. For me, it seemed a reasonable expense for closing out a hunt in one of the truly wild bits of Africa still remaining. Enough so, that I have been twice. Others may have a different view.

I should add that this kind of news really saddens me.

All we as consumers can do besides voting at the polls and writing letters is to vote with our feet and currency. When that happens in enough numbers politicians hopefully take notice. Unfortunately industries can collapse and livelihoods can be ruined along the way.

Mozambique was on our most favored list of places to visit. We once spent a fair amount of time at a SCI convention (the last one held in Las Vegas IIRC) getting bids for a guided hunt in Mozambique. Prices were really competitive with a fully guided Cape Buffalo hunt coming in at around $11,000 US. We gave up on the idea to visit there not based on cost but on safety concerns at the time.

 

[Hank2211]

I understand that people feel ripped off but . . . These countries aren’t exactly rich and just about every hunter who comes has more disposable income than about 99% of the local population. So . . .

Personally, I’ve reached the saturation point on trophies (my wife reached the same point about 25 trophies ago). I decided a hunt ago that nothing would follow me home anymore (I make an exception for cat skins). So this Moz issue doesn’t impact me, and won’t stop me from visiting one of the last wild places left in Africa.

I have to say it’s quite liberating not to have to worry about taxidermy costs, shipping, clearing agents, government taxes, etc. - all things which keep coming up after you’ve paid for the hunt. And I’d rather hunt more animals than put another head on a wall I don’t have. Works well.

 

[Red Leg]

I must say, if the operator has informed us about the cost of exporting the trophies, we would not going to Mozambique, We would for sure choosen a another hunting destinatin.
A friend of me spent 10 days in Zambia, shot a buffalo and Bushbuck, the fee was 1000USD, it`s a different.
The operator did not talk about this at all, and we didn`t ask, because we tought that it as the same as in South Africa, this time we are trapped.
But, we learned a lesson this time also.

That extra $1500 over what you apparently anticipated would have caused you to decide on a different hunting location than Mozambique? Fair enough, let’s say that is the case. I agree that I don’t like surprises on a bill either, but not bringing what may be the trophy of a lifetime home because you are upset strikes me that you have decided to punish yourself rather than the outfitter or shipper.

South Africa has a highly competitive hunting industry with multiple options for handling trophies and their shipments. The further one gets afield from such infrastructure, the more likely one finds additional costs - but also a true wilderness hunt as opposed to a replica of one. I am not sure that should be surprising. (The incidentals for my coming Siberian adventure are almost funny, and I haven’t even started the process of getting the bear home).

I would get that bull home and get him on the wall where he belongs. That extra $1500 will seem awfully paltry over the years compared to an area of bare paint.

 

[BRICKBURN]

...............
The operator did not talk about this at all, and we didn`t ask, because we tought that it as the same as in South Africa, this time we are trapped.
But, we learned a lesson this time also.

I made this same assumption about trophy processing in Botswana. I did not ask the questions beforehand and the entire party was literally held hostage.
The proposed costs were so outrageous that the trophies were nearly abandoned. It took over a year to sort out the extortion with the help of the Outfitter.

I did ask the questions before Mozambique so I knew what I was in for.

More remote, less developed, smaller market =

Just gotta hate the surprise.

 

[thi9elsp]

I hunted in Niassa, Mozambique November 2016. Annie with EMIAC was very good to work with. My booking agent here in the U.S. told me it could be a bit more than I would have expected to get the trophies to South Africa, but I accepted that. More frustrating was that it would take 12 months to get from Mozambique to my U.S taxidermist. But, that is Mozambique (outfitter, PH, booking agent and taxidermist all told me this up front). My costs invoiced in March 2017 were:

$1,940 for 7 animals including skulls, hides, etc. all permits, export docs, Mozambique customs clearance, road freight, etc.
optional was $725 insurance for loss / damage to trophies while in their facilitate based upon a trophy value of $29,000.

Animals included: Cape buffalo, Livingstone Eland, Lichtenstein Hartebeest, Southern Reedbuck, Roosevelt Sable, Zebra full hide, and Warthog tusks.

As @Red Leg says above. When I sit here in my den and type this message I look at those trophies and the extra cost for processing was worth it to me.

 

[Hallgeir Gravråk]

Yes, Jaco is a fantastic guy and PH, I really love him, and deeply respect him. It was not my intension to drag him into this discussion. it went wrong.

Those photos of the Invoices are the first leg, next leg is about 6 months later we also get invoices for the rest, its about the same amount.
We got a budget invoice to pay in about 6 months as a forcast.
After some correspondense to day it could seems that this is the total to pay, I really dont know.

 

[spike.t]

Yes, Jaco is a fantastic guy and PH, I really love him, and deeply respect him. It was not my intension to drag him into this discussion. it went wrong.

Those photos of the Invoices are the first leg, next leg is about 6 months later we also get invoices for the rest, its about the same amount.
We got a budget invoice to pay in about 6 months as a forcast.
After some correspondense to day it could seems that this is the total to pay, I really dont know.

Yup Jaco sent me your recent email. Hope it goes well

 

[Paul Miller]

I recently received a check for $US 36.33. It was for finishing 2nd in an NSCA sponsored 5 Stand Sporting Clay event. Got me to thinking so I added up my total expenditures for shooting sporting clays for the last year. Came out to a little over $US 26,000. I’m going to have that check framed as the first and potentially last money I ever win as a professional athlete! It’s going on my office wall right next to the Cape buffalo horns and nyala shoulder mount I brought back from Mozambique in 2016. I don’t do any of this to save money. Only memories!

 

[Wheels]

It's always good to hear the good and bad of a situation. It is never fun to have surprises, but in the long run, aren't we as individuals responsible for vetting the situation ourselves.

Lord willing, my son and I are hunting Mozambique this year. Knowing the trophy situation in Mozambique, I haven't been planning on bringing any trophies home. This being my son's first buffalo hunt, my mind might be changed. I don't have much room for more taxidermy and at some level would rather spend the money on another hunt, rather than trophies.

In the long run, the memories and some photos are more important to me than a nicknack on the wall that my kids will probably not care about when it comes their time to divide things up.

Hopefully we as hunters won't write off the wild areas as hunting destinations due to taxidermy fees.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Yes, Jaco is a fantastic guy and PH, I really love him, and deeply respect him. It was not my intension to drag him into this discussion. it went wrong. ...........

I think it is a good heads up for hunters. It does not have to be seen as "bashing".

Simple message: Make sure you determine the costs of the entire process before you go.

 

[Royal27]

In the long run, the memories and some photos are more important to me than a nicknack on the wall that my kids will probably not care about when it comes their time to divide things up.

The proper word is "trinket."