Part of the problem involved those new requirements by US Fish & Wildlife Service on export permits for CITES animals. We've warned you before about these changes and how any improperly documented shipments will be returned from the US. Well, the French Veterinary Department at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris has followed suit, refusing to handle any improperly prepared trophy shipments. That led Air France to refuse taking any more trophy shipments, as all rejected crates must be returned to the country of origin. Air France, of course, is the main European airline flying into Central Africa. That left scores of trophy shipments stranded with no way to get to Paris.
The backup of trophies from the savannah hunts in Cameroon seems to have cleared now, and hunters should have received their shipments by the time you read this. Apparently, Swiss Air has become the new carrier of choice by safari operators there. The paperwork for trophies taken during the forest hunting season, which ended July 31, was still being processed last month, but Raquel Requera of Mayo Oldiri Safaris says all trophies should be shipped by Christmas.
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