Damaged skins

[JustinW]

How many people out there have received their skins or skulls/horns back damaged or they come back from the tannery with large slip spots or holes on them from the capes not being dried correctly from the dipper/shipper? I've seen over 6 different shipments over the last 5 years or so that have come back with either red mold on the salted skins or the damage isn't noticed until they come back from the tannery damaged. I luckily haven't had this happen to any of my trophies, but its happened to shipments from different outfitters in the Limpopo province. It seems the problem isn't really when the skins are prepped while you are on your hunt, but when they are put into the dip solution that they aren't being salted back down and dried properly before being crated. In one instance the crate came back with a steenbok with the legs torn off and a few of the ears were damages as well. Skull damage was severe damage to the maxillary area of the skull. The entire bottom of the upper jaw and nose area was gone. Usually skulls arrived carefully packaged with all external nasal bones intact and most molars there, that way if you decide to do a skull mount you have something to work with. This doesn't seem to be an isolated instance with one PH or one taxidermist in RSA. Not saying everyone is bad, but that its not just a one time instance that i've seen. We have spoken to two different outfitters about this that it occured with who will remain unnamed. One PH aknowledged the damage but refused to recognize it as a problem, the other operation agreed to help out some but wasn't willing to promise that skins wouldn't be ruined when arriving stateside or that skulls wouldn't be severely damaged with future clients. This just certainly doesn't seem acceptable. For many hunters, this is a once in a lifetime trip. This issue has been brought up to SCI who is aware of the problem via complaints from others on one particular dipper.

For PHs out there, are there shippers in RSA that are willing to dry dip the skins without putting them in a liquid solution? Have you heard of your clients having damaged trophies from the dippers/shippers?
Hope this doesn't stir up a hornets nest. The problem seems to be with the packing facilities, not with the hunting operation itself. Would like to be able to have confidence again that my trophies will be in good shape when the taxidermist gets them. For now that confidence has been shaken.

 

[SDHNTR]

Unfortunately I've heard this is a common problem too. I'm going next year and my outfitter assured me that he does not have these problems.

 

[JustinW]

Yeah, thats the thing that concerns me most about hunting the northern province area (limpopo province to be politically correct). Even if you were to call the outfitters I'm talking about, I would be willing to bet that they would reassure you that it isn't a problem "Oh no, thats not a problem any of my hunters have, come hunt with me." Problem is, you won't discover this is a problem until well after your hunt is finished.....and you have paid to crate and ship all of this stuff that will end up being thrown away, again after you have paid for tanning as well.
Having work done over there isn't a very good option either. The quality isn't there with everything I've seen and shipping is even more expensive.

 

[Glass eye]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JustinW @ Oct 11 2007, 05:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

again after you have paid for tanning as well.[/b]

Change tanneries. New Method in S.F. notifies me of bad skins when they rehydrate them. I tell them to procceed or reject. If a hide is rejected they send it back un-tanned at no charge. They even emailed me pics of a kudu this week and I forwarded it to my customer to see.
BTW anyone got a spare kudu cape ?

 

[JustinW]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Glass eye @ Oct 11 2007, 06:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JustinW @ Oct 11 2007, 05:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

again after you have paid for tanning as well.[/b]

Change tanneries. New Method in S.F. notifies me of bad skins when they rehydrate them. I tell them to procceed or reject. If a hide is rejected they send it back un-tanned at no charge. They even emailed me pics of a kudu this week and I forwarded it to my customer to see.
BTW anyone got a spare kudu cape ?
[/b][/quote]

Tannery isn't the problem, New Method is the tannery, and you are right, they will reject them no charge, but thats not the point. In many cases the customer wants their skin from their Kudu and its unfortunate that the skins are received like this. You may have to proceed with a Kudu skin that might not have fallen apart, but the pigment is gone from the skin leaving it to be repaired by the taxidermist. I presume you are a taxidermist. You shouldn't have to put up with this, repairing this damage cuts into your profits, and when a ruined skin comes in, you are likely losing business. Losing the income from a Kudu shoulder mount is a big chunk of change to lose from a taxidermists perspective, and its even more expensive for the hunter who saved and saved to hunt it.

The damage is occurring when a properly salted and dried skin is rehydrated and dipped, and then not properly salted and dried before being packed. It seems that the shipment you are talking about has suffered this damage as well.

This problem didn't used to be this bad. On my first safari to Zimbabwe my skins came back flawless, along with subsequent hunts there. I've never seen damage from Namibia or other countries in the region and never heard of this problem in the East Cape. They dry "dip" on the East Cape. The northern part of RSA can dry dip, they just don't.

This seems to be widespread enough, I'm wondering when outfitters will stop putting up with it. I know a number of guys that aren't hunting this part of Africa right now because of this problem. There are so many new hunters coming in that don't know about this problem and won't hear about it from their outfitters that i suppose business isn't suffering yet for simple plains game hunts. I would think that their business would be suffering from more advanced hunters targeting more expensive game. The techniques are there to change how skins are handled and still meet export and import standards. When will PH's stand up and put pressure on the dippers to change how they dip their skins. You don't get to keep your meat when you hunt Africa, the only thing you get to bring home are memories, photos and skins. If the skins are ruined, why even go?

 

[Gray Ghost Safaris]

Justin, it continues to plague Hunters no matter where they hunt. I looked at a clients mounted trophies today (in the drying stage at the Taxidermist's) and over half of them had slip spots. Some were appauling. This did not occur due to poor skinning, fleshing and salting, it happened at the "dip/pack" Taxidermy studio. I personally oversaw the fleshing and salting, and having been a professional Taxidermist for over 17 years, I saw no problems or shortcuts with the skinners work. Several inches of salt covered each cape during the drying process. This was from the Eastern Cape and the same Taxidermy shop had previous high marks for their dip/pack work. To add to this insult, my Nyala and one set of Bushbuck horns were swapped, mixed up or lost and replaced. Neither set of horns I received belonged to me. We have taken measures to avoid this in the future by contracting with a dip/pack service that is not only less expensive, but they are not in the Taxidermy business, so they have nothing to gain or lose as far as taxidermy work goes. I agree with you: the best taxidermy art comes from the US. No question in my mind. Best of luck in the future...GGS