I will dedicate the editorial on mainly trophy tanning and taxidermy
and for what I consider the most important point in the hunting industry — and that is the field preparation and curing of hides and skins. For the overseas readers who do not know me, I was born in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) and started my tanning career in 1962 with a small tannery in the eastern part of Zimbabwe. I immigrated to South Africa in 1983 and have since been involved in the tanning industry although now, semi-retired, I spend most of my time in my children’s tannery — probably one of the largest exotic tanneries in this field.
I was the chairman of the Taxidermy Association of Southern Africa for a few years and also elected president of the S.L.T.C. (Society for Leather Technologists and Chemists, South African section), where I also served for two years.
Game skin — and trophy tanning in Zimbabwe in my years of apprenticeship, was not really anything to write home about. It was very small — in fact to me, it did not really mean very much. I had an Italian boss whom I respected very much and the first year of my tanning career was seeing my boss tasting chemicals to determine the pH and quality, although as much as it may sound strange, I never saw anything really going wrong. Tanning game skins in bulk was our main production. Our company was involved in a large production of game skin products making rugs, game skin poufs, handbags, key rings etc. This was a very large industry those years.
The little trophy tanning that came in to be done, was more or less adding to the skin bulk production and if it came out good and well, it was difficult really to understand when the client or the hunter brought in an impala skin, and the skin had hairslip. It was difficult to understand why the client was so upset. We would offer him another good quality skin, surely he must be happy with this, surely he should be grateful that we actually gave him another skin, but no!, he was not. Oh, what a pain this client was. It was only a few years later when I started hunting myself, not in a big way, that suddenly I realised the importance and sentimentality of that impala skin. I was now on both sides: hunting and tanning. The guy that was a pain, I now fully understood, in fact, I was now on his side.
After my apprenticeship I started my own tanning company with the view to give personal service to the hunter by understanding what this hunt meant, by understanding what a trophy and a skin meant. Well, needless to say, I started my business with this in mind and to say the least, my business increased by more than threefold every year.
I hope one can now understand why I related to the above real happenings and real story so often in our business: tanning and taxidermy. People get involved for a quick buck. This does not mean to say that we are not in business to make money, by a quick buck I mean the real die-hard interest, is not always there. Therefore, my advice to the hunter is when you arrive at the first stop for example the professional hunter or the outfitter, view the professionalism, the way your trophies are treated, the way they are cured or preserved which taxidermist is going to be used. Are they professional? Find out who they are. Ask for the brochures. After all, it is your right to know who is going to work on your trophies.
Hunting, tanning and taxidermy is no longer inexpensive and you require the best, but for the best service and prices. Now apart from professionalism honesty and integrity, if the trophy is not well or properly preserved or properly prepared in the field, then there is no point in looking for a good tanner or taxidermist.
So I am going to give
curing hints that I have tried and proved over the years, so hunters take note so that you also have some idea what should take place in the field with your trophies.
