My most recent safari in Namibia was in May 2025. I wanted to start this thread to share my recent experience, costs, and eventually the full timeline of getting my trophies home.
Getting trophies home can be a big worry for a lot of first time African hunters,and rightfully so!
so I always like sharing my experiences to give people a better idea of what the process actually looks like and what they can expect to pay.
Taxidermy:
I decided to have my trophies done in Namibia. Personally, I believe some of the best taxidermy is done right here in my home state of Texas, but I’m also not a huge taxidermy junkie. I decided to “save” some money and have my mounts done by Trophäendienste in Namibia. I also wanted to take advantage of the much cheaper (imo) tanning process in Africa. I had both the zebra and Dik Dik back hides tanned.
Besides cost, Another reason was my oryx. I had it done as a European mount and wanted it to match my other oryx euros that Trophäendienste has done for me in the past from previous hunt. Their European mounts are very well done, and I wouldn’t have any hesitation recommending them for that.
I rolled the dice a little more by having my hartmann’s zebra and Damara dik dik done there as shoulder mounts. I know I could probably get better mounts back home in Texas, but like I said, I’m just not that worried about taxidermy. I basically said screw it and gave them a shot.
From the pictures, they look perfectly fine to me. Certainly not award winning taxidermy…. but I didn’t go into it expecting that,
The Hartmanns looks great, the Dik Dik looks ehh…. I think they are hard to get right to begin with. No biggie. We will see better when they get to the states.
I have used Trophäendienste before. They are responsive over email and do make an effort to fix problems when they come up. We had a few mishaps with billing and paperwork that were frustrating at the time, but looking back, they always made an effort to straighten things out and responded promptly.
Shipping:
One thing I strongly recommend… do not automatically accept the first shipping quote you receive.
I think part of the surge in trophy shipping costs is tied to novice hunters simply accepting the first company and quote they receive. I know there is often times room to shop around and negotiate. We need to do that. It is in all of our best interests to keep these costs competitive.
I requested quotes from four different African shipping companies and ultimately decided to use African Shipping Services C.C. dealing with Cathy. She has been wonderful to work with and very responsive and kind. She put up with me so that says a lot.
My crate dimensions are:
106 x 48 x 82 cm
Chargeable weight: 70 kg
My shipping cost is:
$1,350 USD to IAH (Houston) via Delta after I had Cathy remove the “insurance” line item of $160.
I found that price to be very fair.
U.S. Import Broker:
I have been in the search for a new import broker. My last one was kicked out of SCI…
I also realized my last import broker just handed it off to “cargo tours” in JFK and added what ever margin they wanted onto my bill….
A friend of mine just had a crate come from Tanzania with two leopards and his bill from genus logistics was less then my last broker charged me for some freaking euros from Namibia. So I decided to get genus a try!
So for this round on the U.S. side, I will be using Genus Logistics as my import broker.
Their home base is JFK, but they have assured me they have access to a bonded facility at IAH and can provide the same services in Houston that they offer in New York.
Genus and African Shipping Services C.C. also work together regularly, which should hopefully make the process smoother.
I’m looking forward to getting the ball rolling and having these trophies shipped out soon.
I’ll continue updating this thread with costs, timelines, paperwork, and anything else that comes up along the way. Hopefully it gives any first timers planning an African safari a better picture of the entire process and what they can realistically expect to spend.
Cheers
Getting trophies home can be a big worry for a lot of first time African hunters,and rightfully so!
so I always like sharing my experiences to give people a better idea of what the process actually looks like and what they can expect to pay.
Taxidermy:
I decided to have my trophies done in Namibia. Personally, I believe some of the best taxidermy is done right here in my home state of Texas, but I’m also not a huge taxidermy junkie. I decided to “save” some money and have my mounts done by Trophäendienste in Namibia. I also wanted to take advantage of the much cheaper (imo) tanning process in Africa. I had both the zebra and Dik Dik back hides tanned.
Besides cost, Another reason was my oryx. I had it done as a European mount and wanted it to match my other oryx euros that Trophäendienste has done for me in the past from previous hunt. Their European mounts are very well done, and I wouldn’t have any hesitation recommending them for that.
I rolled the dice a little more by having my hartmann’s zebra and Damara dik dik done there as shoulder mounts. I know I could probably get better mounts back home in Texas, but like I said, I’m just not that worried about taxidermy. I basically said screw it and gave them a shot.
From the pictures, they look perfectly fine to me. Certainly not award winning taxidermy…. but I didn’t go into it expecting that,
The Hartmanns looks great, the Dik Dik looks ehh…. I think they are hard to get right to begin with. No biggie. We will see better when they get to the states.
I have used Trophäendienste before. They are responsive over email and do make an effort to fix problems when they come up. We had a few mishaps with billing and paperwork that were frustrating at the time, but looking back, they always made an effort to straighten things out and responded promptly.
Shipping:
One thing I strongly recommend… do not automatically accept the first shipping quote you receive.
I think part of the surge in trophy shipping costs is tied to novice hunters simply accepting the first company and quote they receive. I know there is often times room to shop around and negotiate. We need to do that. It is in all of our best interests to keep these costs competitive.
I requested quotes from four different African shipping companies and ultimately decided to use African Shipping Services C.C. dealing with Cathy. She has been wonderful to work with and very responsive and kind. She put up with me so that says a lot.
My crate dimensions are:
106 x 48 x 82 cm
Chargeable weight: 70 kg
My shipping cost is:
$1,350 USD to IAH (Houston) via Delta after I had Cathy remove the “insurance” line item of $160.
I found that price to be very fair.
U.S. Import Broker:
I have been in the search for a new import broker. My last one was kicked out of SCI…
I also realized my last import broker just handed it off to “cargo tours” in JFK and added what ever margin they wanted onto my bill….
A friend of mine just had a crate come from Tanzania with two leopards and his bill from genus logistics was less then my last broker charged me for some freaking euros from Namibia. So I decided to get genus a try!
So for this round on the U.S. side, I will be using Genus Logistics as my import broker.
Their home base is JFK, but they have assured me they have access to a bonded facility at IAH and can provide the same services in Houston that they offer in New York.
Genus and African Shipping Services C.C. also work together regularly, which should hopefully make the process smoother.
I’m looking forward to getting the ball rolling and having these trophies shipped out soon.
I’ll continue updating this thread with costs, timelines, paperwork, and anything else that comes up along the way. Hopefully it gives any first timers planning an African safari a better picture of the entire process and what they can realistically expect to spend.
Cheers
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