OK Tommy I've finally found time to jump in here. Thanks to Marius for the heads-up on this post.
In Australia, to bring back salted green capes (ie, dip & pack) you need to go through a quarantine approved facility, of which there is only one left in the country now thanks to Government fee hikes and red tape (Gary Pegg @ South Pacific Taxidermy has discontinued this area of business after many years at it.) The single remaining go-to guy is Danny Vanbrugh in Queensland.
The other way to go is to have them tanned in Africa and skulls cleaned for export. This way they can go through a normal customs import and be sent or collected straight to you. But there are pitfalls - I went this way on my first safari to Namibia in 2016 and even went as far to get in writing what tanning chemicals the place was using as I'd heard some horror stories. Despite this all my capes were unfortunately ruined and I'm still waiting on replacements which I've been promised will come. Stuff-ups can happen anywhere but this is heart-wrenching stuff....so due-diligence is required but there is always some risk whichever way you go. Even getting them dipped/salted there and tanned here can lead to problems as skins may not rehydrate properly for the pickling/tanning process to commence, hence why I thought I'd skip this expense and just have them tanned there. I should add that I was just unlucky - I've mounted other African shipments for clients that were tanned there and came back just fine.
Third option is to mount over there and have shipped. I didn't really consider this option as in my opinion the resulting quality is very variable and the freight costs astronomical. I'd go one of the other two options personally.
The best man to talk to is Nick Bence from Raitt International Freight here in Aus. Nick is a champ and does this stuff every day - he's very helpful and thorough and can assist you through the whole process. Given the fees I paid Raitt on my last import it was definitely worth it and I'll use them again - I've also used them for several trophy exports. Email
nick@raitt.com.au and tell him I sent you.
It's definitely worth also talking to your intended taxo here and see which process they recommend and whether they have worked with Danny Vanbrugh before, or have a preferred tanner over there. There's a few guys who are good on African mounts depending on your location - South Pacific, Markus Michalowitz or Tony Bianco spring to mind.
So at the end of all that I'll close by saying I'm heading back to South Africa in 2018 to hunt with KMG and still unsure which process I'll use myself. Probably I'll get them tanned there after doing my homework - but then I might talk to Danny re. costs too.
All the best, hope that's of some use! Enjoy the planning process, it's half the fun!
Tim Blackwell
