Services

Your trophies, safely home

Your hunt is over, but your trophies still have a long way to go. Zingela International Trophy Logistics looks after that last stretch. We build crates or collect them from your taxidermist, handle the permits and customs clearing, and send your mounts, skins, horns and other taxidermy on their way to you, wherever you live.

We ship worldwide, and we work with taxidermists and outfitters across South Africa. Whatever you send, we treat it as what it is: a once-in-a-lifetime memory.

Where we ship

• Worldwide. By air, we ship from OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, to your nearest designated wildlife port of entry in the USA, or to any other destination our carrier airlines fly to.
• By sea, we send full containers of trophies to Houston (USA) and Hamburg (Germany). See Sea freight and containers below.
• Hunts outside South Africa. Hunted in a neighbouring country? We can import your trophies into South Africa and export them onward to you. We handle import brokerage for trophies coming in from any country.

What we do

Packing and crating

Trophies need sturdy, well-built crates to travel safely. We can custom-build your crates ourselves, at your taxidermist’s premises, or collect crates your taxidermist has built. Consignments are packed and crated to international standards, including the IPPC / ISPM 15 rules for wooden packaging.

Crating appears as its own line on your quote, priced on the chargeable weight (see How pricing works).

Collection and local transport

We collect finished trophies from taxidermists anywhere in South Africa and bring them to our warehouse in Benoni, then take the cargo to the airport or port for export. Collection is charged separately, unless we have agreed otherwise.

Check-in, measuring and weighing

When your trophies arrive at our warehouse, we check every crate in. We measure its actual dimensions, weigh it and record the details on your export file. Your formal quote is based on these figures, so it reflects what is really being shipped, not a guess.

Permits and export documentation

Paperwork is where trophy shipments most often go wrong, and mistakes can mean delays, fines or even confiscation. We take care of the permits needed to move your trophies from the taxidermist to our warehouse and to export them:

• TOPS permits
• CITES permits
• veterinary permits
• provincial transport and export permits

We check that the documents are in order and take them to the nature conservation office to be endorsed before export.

The hunting permits, the PH hunting register and the related hunting approvals are the responsibility of the hunter and the outfitter or PH. Permits usually take 3–4 weeks, depending on the government departments involved. You can read more about the documents we need in How it works.

Customs clearing

We have been a registered customs clearing agent since our founding, so we clear your consignment through customs ourselves rather than through a third party. We make sure customs receives the same documents as the nature conservation office, so the value of the cargo can be declared and approved for export.

Import brokerage

Trophies from a hunt in a neighbouring country, or from anywhere else, can come to us first. We handle the import brokerage for trophies coming into South Africa from any country, and can then crate, document and export them to you with the rest of your consignment.

Air freight

We ship by air from OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, to your nearest designated wildlife port of entry in the USA, or to other destinations our carrier airlines offer. Once payment has been received and your order is confirmed, your cargo goes on the first available flight. We send the flight details to you and your broker.

We track every shipment. If a carrier delay causes a problem, we tell everyone involved so nobody is caught off guard.

Insurance (optional)

You can choose to insure your consignment. Insurance is in US dollars, the premium is 1% of the insured value, and there is no minimum premium. For example, cargo insured for US$5,000 costs US$50 to insure.

The insured value is based on Zingela’s suggested values for each species, which we confirm with you when we prepare your quote. Insurance is not included automatically; we arrange it only if you ask for it in writing and we confirm it to you in writing.

When cover applies: from the moment your trophies leave our warehouse until they reach the first port of entry. From the port of entry onward, your destination broker or clearing agent can arrange insurance through their own providers, if they offer it or you ask for it. That part is entirely outside our control.

Under our Terms and Conditions of Supply, your trophies are at your risk from the time they are collected at the exporter’s premises, so we encourage you to make sure they are sufficiently insured. Cover is subject to the insurer’s policy terms.

Brokers at destination

At the port of entry, your trophies have to be cleared by the wildlife and customs authorities in your country. You can do this yourself, but we strongly recommend using a broker who knows the process. We send your broker the flight and shipping details so they can plan the clearance and avoid storage charges.

Don’t have a broker? We’ll refer you to one. We only suggest brokers we have a track record with. Your broker works independently of us, on their own terms.

Sea freight and containers

For sea freight, we offer a full container load (FCL) service. These containers are packed only with hunting trophies, with no general cargo.

• To Houston, USA, via Durban or Cape Town
• To Hamburg, Germany

Sailing times are approximately:

• Hamburg: about 21 days
• Houston: about 35 days

These are sailing times only. Time in port and customs clearance at either end come on top, and all times are estimates.

Sea freight is priced per chargeable kilogram, worked out the same way as for air freight: the greater of the actual weight and the volumetric weight (cm³ ÷ 6,000). See How pricing works. Ask us whether a container makes sense for your consignment.

Shared containers (LCL). We can also arrange less-than-container-load (LCL) shipping, where your trophies share a container with other cargo, but only as a last resort. We strongly advise against it. In a shared container, general cargo is stacked with your trophies, and that risks significant damage. Your trophies can’t be replaced, so we would rather tell you this up front.

How pricing works

Estimate first, formal quote after check-in

• Anyone can request an estimate. An estimate is based on the details you give us, such as the species, the number of trophies and where they need to go, and on estimated crate sizes and weights, so it is a guide only.
• Partners (the taxidermists and outfitters/PHs we work with) can also get an estimate through our Partner Estimator.
• A formal quote is only issued once your crates have been checked in at our warehouse, measured and weighed. Because it uses the actual measurements and weights, the formal quote may differ from the estimate.

Chargeable weight

Air freight, sea freight and crating are all charged on the chargeable weight, which is the greater of:

• the actual weight of the crate, and
• the volumetric weight: length × width × height in centimetres, divided by 6,000.

The chargeable weight is rounded to the nearest whole kilogram. Mounted trophies are often light but bulky, so the volumetric weight is frequently the higher one.

Worked example. A crate measures 120 × 80 × 70 cm and weighs 45 kg on our scale.

Volumetric weight: 120 × 80 × 70 = 672,000 cm³ ÷ 6,000 = 112 kg.

112 kg is more than the actual 45 kg, so the chargeable weight is 112 kg.

What your quote includes

Your quote includes:

• freight to the destination port of entry
• export permits
• local transport
• packing
• customs clearing
• crating, shown as its own line and priced on the chargeable weight

Charged separately: collection from your taxidermist, unless we have agreed otherwise. Insurance is an optional extra.

Not included: any charges at destination, such as destination broker fees, import duties and taxes, USFWS/USDA inspection fees, and delivery from the port of entry to you. We don’t offer door-to-door delivery.

Payment

All rates are quoted EXW and in US dollars (US$). You can pay by bank transfer into our First National Bank (FNB) account, or by Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club or American Express card. For card payments, we convert the US$ amount to rand at the ruling exchange rate and charge the rand amount to your card. Card payments are processed securely by PayGate, and we don’t store card details on our website. Payment is made upfront, unless we have agreed credit with you in writing.

Our Terms

Pricing, payment, insurance, cancellation and delivery times are governed by our Terms and Conditions of Supply. If anything on this page seems to differ from the Terms, the Terms apply.

Who we work with

Hunters, wherever you live. You may have booked your hunt months ago, or only discovered us after you landed. Either way, tell us who your taxidermist is and where the trophies need to go, and we’ll take it from there.

Our partners: taxidermists and outfitters/PHs. We work with taxidermists and outfitters/PHs to get their clients’ trophies exported. Partners can use the Partner Estimator to give clients an early idea of costs, and we issue the formal quote once the crates are checked in, measured and weighed.

Talk to us

Not sure what you need? Call us on +27 11 395 1855 (Mon–Fri 08:00–17:00) or email info@zingelaforwarders.co.za. We’re happy to explain each step.