The second subscriber took a "fabulous" Lord Derby eland in Central African Republic this past season that measured more than 50 inches. The trophy left Bangui and arrived in New York via Paris in short order, where it was cleared by John Meehan of Flora and Fauna, who turned it over to Yellow Freight Line for shipment on to a taxidermist. The magnificent eland has not been seen since! Seems Yellow Freight Line has proposed a settlement of $1.75/pound on the 350-pound crate, while the international carrier cited above has made no proposal at all for settlement.
What can you do to prevent this kind of thing? Nothing actually, but you can mitigate the financial loss by insisting that your hunting company, custom broker and/or anyone else who gets involved in shipping your trophies insure them fully. That's what Flora and Fauna's John Meehan has concluded after looking into the matter. He's so convinced of the need for insurance that he says he is going to routinely buy it in the future for all trophy shipments, whether the client asks for it or not. He says the ballpark cost of the necessary insurance is 35 cents per $100 for domestic shipping and about $1 per $100 for international shipping. In other words, it would cost about $35 to insure an eland trophy for $10,000 domestically and about $100 to insure it for that amount while it's being shipped internationally.........(continued)
