Yes, a skull applies, as do bones, etc. You need paperwork to bring anything back especially if it's in a raw uncleaned form. I have brought back a couple warthog tusk bottle openers. Those are OK.
From my experience, only the raw skins fall into the special category. Warthog skulls and tusks can just be sent to any taxidermy or your house with your shipment. They don’t need to go to a usda establishment first. Since there is a difference in opinion maybe make contact with trophy shippers and ask. They’ll give you the real answer.
You don’t do this. This will be done by the taxidermy/shipping agent in Africa. They usually communicate with customer broker who approves paperwork before it gets shipped. It’s a pretty streamlined process usually.
Yes. All the animal parts have to be accounted for. On the USFWS declaration it wants numbers. (The form is a 3177, Google it). So under warthog if you just have a skull or just a hide you'd have one piece, skull and hide 2 pieces. Actually labeled 2/no for number. I'm doing my own dec for a shipment right now because yes, you can have it imported in and do your own wildlife dec and Customs dec if you have it imported somewhere with a port of entry for both like Anchorage, AK. It's actually pretty easy if none of your trophies need to go to an approved facility. I have no swine, primates or unfinished equine. They're all fully finished in RSA. Mine will stay in bond until arrival and then USFWS does their inspection and they clear it, then I take their clearance paperwork to the Customs office and do that dec. Ag might look at them, but they're finished so they are good.
I talked to Tom at Trophy Shippers and Wyatt at Safari Speciality Importers and in the last year or so it has all changed
Perhaps USFWS is taking a different outlook but USDA hasn't changed. I do know you'll still need a declaration and such for USFWS.
My thoughts too. I pay people to do the job properly and take any stress off me. Same goes for booking flights with firearms.
