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Critically Important Notice on Shipping Elephant, Leopard, Crocodile, Argali Sheep and White Rhino to US Clients
USFWS has been seizing Elephant tusks, bones, feet and ear leather maps that have been "worked or altered". Alteration or worked special permit trophies have been and could be considered as "personal items" and not hunting trophies which can change the Appendix 11 legal import status.
Seizures include tusks that have chains added in Africa for hanging or carved and scrimshawed tusks and leg bones, foot stools etc
The advice I would give to hunters is to not have any overseas work done to any Elephant parts or Leopard or any special CITIES or USFWS import permit species. The safe solution is clients should only ship skins raw, special permit species should not even be tanned or mounted, an overzealous USFWS agent could interpret those tanned or have had any type of taxidermy performed to be "altered or worked".
These seizures were supported in a recent US federal court ruling. The clients would be free to have the work done on tusks, skins tanned etc... once the trophies are cleared in the US.
I would personally inspect the Elephant/Leopard skins etc to make sure they are properly tagged with CITIES and regional hunting tags. The client export paper work should be sent to the US import broker for their review and the shipment sent ONLY when the export paper work has been OK'ed by the US import broker.
USWFS has adopted a ZERO tolerance on improper documentation and the ship can be seized and destroyed as contraband. USFWS is doing so with alarming regularity. If seizures do occur the problem is back in your lap. Watch export like a hawk, it is just part of doing the safari business these days!
Source: Jack Atcheson & Sons, Inc.
USFWS has been seizing Elephant tusks, bones, feet and ear leather maps that have been "worked or altered". Alteration or worked special permit trophies have been and could be considered as "personal items" and not hunting trophies which can change the Appendix 11 legal import status.
Seizures include tusks that have chains added in Africa for hanging or carved and scrimshawed tusks and leg bones, foot stools etc
The advice I would give to hunters is to not have any overseas work done to any Elephant parts or Leopard or any special CITIES or USFWS import permit species. The safe solution is clients should only ship skins raw, special permit species should not even be tanned or mounted, an overzealous USFWS agent could interpret those tanned or have had any type of taxidermy performed to be "altered or worked".
These seizures were supported in a recent US federal court ruling. The clients would be free to have the work done on tusks, skins tanned etc... once the trophies are cleared in the US.
I would personally inspect the Elephant/Leopard skins etc to make sure they are properly tagged with CITIES and regional hunting tags. The client export paper work should be sent to the US import broker for their review and the shipment sent ONLY when the export paper work has been OK'ed by the US import broker.
USWFS has adopted a ZERO tolerance on improper documentation and the ship can be seized and destroyed as contraband. USFWS is doing so with alarming regularity. If seizures do occur the problem is back in your lap. Watch export like a hawk, it is just part of doing the safari business these days!
Source: Jack Atcheson & Sons, Inc.
