The 5 Steps to the Importing Process
No matter how you spin, importing is dreadful. There’s the planning, the waiting, the unknowns, the uncertainty. You are here and your trophies are there. A thousand questions buzz through your mind: Did I trust the right people? What happens next? Did I do everything I could do? Will it turn out all right? Should I have gotten my trophies done in Africa?
Just like many things in life, it helps to know you are not alone. For both the novice and well-seasoned veterans, the importing process can be quite daunting. It helps to understand the three to eight month process of how your trophies get from the harvested country to your taxidermist.
Let’s take some time to go over the different steps which occur after you’ve hunted your trophies.
1 – Skinned & Salted
- First, the harvested trophies are skinned and salted.
- The Professional Hunter (PH)’s will carefully remove all meat and fat from the skin.
- The hide will then be laid out flat with flesh side up in a cool, dry place and covered with inches of salt and left to dry for several days.
2 – Dip & Packing
- From the outfitters, the salted skins are sent to a taxidermist or the shipping company in the country of origin.
- It is a regulated process where the hides are processed by boiling and cleaning to destroy any diseases or insects.
- The actual timeframe for this process varies as per regulations.
3 – Crated & Shipped
- Next, the hides and horns are crated and shipped either via air or sea freight to the United States.
4 – Inspections & Import
- Once they arrive in the Port of Entry, the trophies go through a series of inspections done by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States Fish and Wildlife Services (USFW), and United States Customs.
- These inspections can be extensive, so a good customs broker best handles it.
5 – Shipping & Receiving
- After it has passed all clearances, it is sent to a location of your choosing.
- The only exception is if your shipment contains primate or pig species, it must be shipped to a USDA-approved facility for further inspection.
The different steps show you the process, but it’s the pre-planning that will save you a lot of pain from a possible headache. As soon as you have booked a hunt, contact Kanati Studios. For more information about the nitty-gritty of importing and to find out what you need to do, check out this article.
Happy importing!