Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Problems with Highveld Taxidermists/Oxi Logistic in South Africa

I want to post about my very good friend's problems with the shipping of his trophies from South Africa after they were mounted and now the companies don't want to take responsibility. He was supposed to have insurance on everything. I copying his post from another forum below, these are his words and explanation:
I would like to share the experience after my hunt. Close to one and half year I posted a report on how great my trip had been and the wonderful trophies I was able to get with Cruiser Safaris. They are a top notch outfitter with outstanding trophies, and this report is not in any way directed to them. The problem I'm having is with Highveld Taxidermists and their affiliated company Oxi Logistics.

Now, let me tell my experience with Highveld Taxidermists/Oxi Logistic. This is where my nightmare starts. After waiting for what seemed forever, my trophies finally arrived, to my horror I noticed that the crate is all busted up. I think, no worries, I have insurance. Not so much, this is where my nightmare turns ugly. The shipper Oxi Logistics tells me that my insurance coverage was only while my trophies where in transit and arrived in the US and not the final destination my house. First of all I was never given the option to change or upgrade my insurance coverage, or informed of what was covered and what was not covered. The invoice had insurance coverage and I was told it was for replacement cost. As of yet, and many request, I have not seen or have been provided a copy of my insurance certificate by Oxi, which leads me to believe that I never had insurance to beggin with.

I've been in a constant argument with Oxi Logistic, and the bottom line is that they are refusing to accept my claim for the repair of my m0unts. Oxi's suggestion was for me to ship my trophies back to SA and Highveld Taxidermists would fix them for free. Meanwhile, this would end up costing me over $5,000.00 in transportation fees, customs fees, import/export fees, etc, etc. Which I could use that money to get them fix here in the US, and why should I have to pay out of my pocket when supposedly I had insurance.

I know there are a lot of hunters that had their mounts done and shipped by Highveld Taxidermists and Oxi Logistics without any issues, but the true colors and the honesty of companies come out with issues like mine.

I paid some good money to Highveld Taxidermists/Oxi Logistics, and now I have a Kudu with a busted mouth, an Impala with a broken ear and broken neck, a Wildebeest with discoloration on his nose and a Zulu shield with gouges and scratches all over. All this would have been solved if I would have been given the option to change/upgrade the insurance coverage, or if my broker would have been made aware of the insurance limitations. I've paid a lot for this safari and for mounting these trophies, so another $100-300 would not have been an issue.

Here are some pictures so you guys can get an idea of what I'm dealing with:
NOTE: My friend had pictures in the other forum but I could not get the pictures to copy in. The damage is bad and is a bummer for the memories of his hunt and the cost he paid for the mounts. I just wanted to get this out so it might save someone else a lot of trouble. Going to Africa costs a lot of money and having your trophies damaged is a shame and kind of leaves a bitter taste from the trip. Such beautiful animals I hate if for him. He is working every means to get this taken care of but so far he has had no luck. The people in SA don't seem to care. Good luck with your African hunts and be careful with your trophies.

This is in total disagreement with the experience I had with both these outfits. My trophies arrived in perfect shape, other than the Kudu horns being discolored as has been discussed elsewhere here. My dealings with Highveld and Oxi Logistics were above board and fair. I am sorry your friend has had such an experience.
I will forward this thread link to those I know in SA and perhaps your friend can get help.

This is exactly why I didn't leave my game w/Highveld taxidermy. Your insurer has come up with a side step bullchit line to get out of paying the claim(doesn't surprise me).

Have you contacted Peter from Cruiser? Not his fault, though he does send a ton of business to Highvelds & should be informed about the damage. Did the crates look poorly built?

All is rosy until something goes wrong over there -- sorry your friend has found out what "no recourse" means. Buy American.

From what I read on the other forum and his account there, he says that they were damaged AFTER arriving by air in the US...i.e. by the trucking company...so I don't see how Highveld or
Oxi have any liability here...with the insurance coverage, maybe...but I was offered and took higher amounts for mine.at minimal cost..and I went to Atlanta and picked my crate up from Delta directly. No chance for a trucking company to beat it up.
Like I said above, these comments have been sent to all in SA that I have contact information for ...lets see if he gets any help....

Thanks for the comments and forwarding of his issue to SA. That is true that the damage was done by the trucking company. He thought through his talks with Highveld/Oxi that he had bought insurance to his door. He cannot even get a copy of the insurance document to look at it. So that is making him wonder the money he paid for insurance was even used to buy insurance. He is talking to everbody he can to work this out. Highveld/Oxi have not been any help and though it is not their fault they should provide him a copy of the insurance he paid for. He is working with the trucking company to have them paid for the damage. I just wanted to alert people to buy insurance to your door and to try and make sure you have proof of insurance. He loved the guide and his company that he hunted with. No problems with them at all, he would hunt with them again. Thanks for the help and it is true, it is hard to deal with an issue or problem with a company in another country.

Here is a link to his post on the Weatherby.com forum if you want to read it. He has posted more details and you can see the pictures. The crate was built okay, I have seen it in his garage. He is keeping it in case one of the companies want to exam it. It was not built poorly and it was not built overly strong. Here is the link to Weatherby.com:
http://www.weatherbynation.com/spikecamp/conversation/1/11499/13/#msg103526
Please copy and paste, I don't know how to make it hot.

It seems to me the trucking company responsible and if legit, should also have insurance. I'd be after them too, if he hasn't been. This is why I had my hides tanned and horns, etc. cleaned and ready to ship. Have the taxidermy work done here.

Sorry to hear about this experience, I know that Highveld do some really great work (been there a couple of times) but as Ghost says, in the long run it is probably safer & possibly more cost effective to have your trophies dipped & prepped in RSA then mounted back stateside. I would look to the trucking company for answers!

It reads to me like the blame lies directly with the trucking company here in the US. Apparently that is who he is going after for damages.

Care to share the name of that company?

Did your friend use an import broker here in the States?

Who recommended the US trucking company?

Who hired the trucking company here in the States?

Did the US trucking company recommend insurance?

It reads to me like the blame lies directly with the trucking company here in the US. Apparently that is who he is going after for damages.

Care to share the name of that company?

Did your friend use an import broker here in the States?

Who recommended the US trucking company?

Who hired the trucking company here in the States?

Did the US trucking company recommend insurance?

You guys are scaring the crap out of me and making me rethink my decision to hunt Africa this summer. I am hunting with Cruiser in August, and had been planning on going with Highveld, just for the sake of convenience. Between the nightmare & horror stories I've read with regards to: bad taxidermy, bad dip/pack, bad flights, hassles with firearms, damaged firearms/gun cases, poor outfitters, corrupt SAP, crime, hassles with the USFWS, brokers, shippers, etc,........it makes me wonder if I'm setting myself up for nothing but a disappointing and expensive trip.
With all that's riding on this, I've signed up on several websites/forums re: Africa and hunting in Africa,and it seems like every day someone posts about some problem with something....I went to these sites to gain information and to try and become knowledgable, but it seems that for every post that says "do your taxidermy here" there is someone else who has a horror story about how their hides weren't salted correctly and ruined when they where finally shipped, if they were shipped at all, etc. Or, for gun cases.....post the question "which is a good airline case?"; a certain number will say "get brand X" to which an equal number will reply "Don't buy that brand, it's crap,.....get brand Y", to which another handful will reply "They are both crap; get brand Z".......I have never been so confused, concerned, and full of angst about a trip in my life!

Sorry if I hijacked the thread..........not really my intention.

Does anybody go to Africa and actually have a good time, without any hassles?

Go. You will have a great time. I hunted with Cruiser in 2010 and I used Highveld (dip and pack only) and had no problems. My buddy had all his animals mounted over there and he got his just fine too. Sorry about Fryebaby's friend, but most of the time things go ok.

+1, The issue has nothing to do with the outfitter. I've hunted w/cruiser & like Afterum said, it'll be a good time.

yep, and Stoney barely had a rifle!

I've hunted with Cruiser too. Fear nothing with them. I also had great experiences with Highveld/Oxi, other than the timeline it takes to get your stuff to the states...this is just an unfortunate situation and hopefully a rare case.

I would recommend though, that you pay to rent a rifle at Cruiser. Between extra baggage fees, importation fees, gun cases, firearms control and everything else, it is just easier to rent a rifle. That is unless, you're doing a review or writing an article on a specific rifle/load/whatever.

16gauge, my friend had no problem with Cruiser. He and his wife had a great time and great hunting. None of this is Cruiser's fault. He highly recommends Cruiser. Just buy insurance and try to have a copy of it and read what it covers. Try to get insurance all the way to your front door if that is possible. You will have a great time on your hunt. Just do your best to make sure your trophies are taken care of and that is all you can do. You can't worry about everything (I am the same way, I worry to much.) Have a great hunt 16gauge, it will be a trip and memories that you will never forget.

Yes.....don't get caught up in internet drama.

Sorry it took us so long to give you an official reply from Highveld Taxidermists- we had to wait for our registration to be approved.

As the owner of Highveld Taxidermists, I tried my utmost to help the client, Oscar Lopez, who I had extensive correspondence with. As Highveld, we offered to repair all the trophies that were damaged free of charge, even though this was not our duty. In addition, the Zulu shield that we made for Oscar, can not be repaired in the US, so I suggested the shipment come back to us at the clearing company's cost.

A quick summary of facts:
- The client paid us for the taxidermy services and Oxi Logistics for sending the trophies to Safari Specialty Importers (against our advice) in New York.
- Safari Specialty Importers was paid to clear and send the trophies on to his home.
- The damage occurred between New York and the clients home while being trucked.

I don't believe it's fair to expect Highveld or Oxi to pay for damage that occurred while the trophies were in the care of a 3rd party that was independently paid for that service. While this fact is also stated in our Terms and conditions, it would be logical to pursue either Safari Specialty Importers or the Trucking company directly.

No complaints. I even used a Tuffpak rifle case. My trophies aren't even to the taxidermist yet, but I have an expediter that will get them from the taxidermist to my door, so I don't anticipate any problems.