REPORT: Karoo Taxidermy in Graaff Reinet

[RolandtheHeadless]

I asked the original question here, and am glad I didn't hire Karoo to do the mounts. I have two complaints with them.

One, they took forever just to dip and pack. They got my trophies in June, and didn't ship until January. I paid them months ago.

Two, the black wildebeest skull arrived at my US taxidermist busted in pieces. I wanted it for a skull mount, and now what do I do? I have no skin, so can't do a full mount.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Brickburn sorry to see your negative results ......... .

Wrong person to be warning or I told ya so. I'm not the OP.

 

[BRICKBURN]

......
Two, the black wildebeest skull arrived at my US taxidermist busted in pieces. I wanted it for a skull mount, and now what do I do?.....

Crazy Glue. I hope all the pieces are there.

 

[BRICKBURN]

BRICKBURN, apologies for the slow reply, .........

I missed your reply. The pictures tell the whole story.

 

[Brandon Ryan]

Wrong person to be warning or I told ya so. I'm not the OP.

Sorry about that Brickburn, wrong guy, lol but accurate post otherwise.

 

[tedthorn]

I asked the original question here, and am glad I didn't hire Karoo to do the mounts. I have two complaints with them.

One, they took forever just to dip and pack. They got my trophies in June, and didn't ship until January. I paid them months ago.

Two, the black wildebeest skull arrived at my US taxidermist busted in pieces. I wanted it for a skull mount, and now what do I do? I have no skin, so can't do a full mount.

Contact Dennis Harris of @The Artistry of Wildlife

I bet he has a solution

 

[RolandtheHeadless]

 

[Velo Dog]

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Jim,

Sorry to see this needless damage.
I wonder if it would be worth bringing the pieces to Knight's Taxidermy, here in town ?
They do quite a few African animals each year.

Paul.

 

[RolandtheHeadless]

My taxidermist says he thinks he can fix it. His diagnosis is:

"The biggest problem as far as I can tell is that someone over boiled your skull, causing it to become brittle. Then with the peroxide bleach added, to it compounded the problem making the skull that much weaker. Then in transit to the states the weight of the other skulls pressing on it, causing it to break in half."

 

[jeff]

I've fixed skulls for clients that were in about the same condition, to I'm sure your taxidermist can do the same.

 

[RolandtheHeadless]

Karoo Taxidermy has sent me a photo of the intact wildebeest skull at their shop. So breakage did happen during shipment.

Karoo asks if I had insurance on the shipment, but they are the ones who arranged for shipment; I just paid it on delivery.

The shipping crate was undamaged, so why would insurance cover the cost of fixing the skull? If you ship a dozen eggs, and just toss the eggs in the box, can you recover for the eggs when they inevitably arrive broken? I'm not suggesting Karoo just tossed my trophies in a crate, but they did pack the crate, and obviously the skull wasn't protected well enough.

I guess I'm just venting now. The damage is only a couple hundred bucks, so I should probably just write it off.

 

[BRICKBURN]

It is bloody frustrating
I hope you can get it fixed

 

[enysse]

You can probably glue it together, sand in and paint to match. It won't be perfect.

 

[Tim van Heerden]

I have just of late become aware of the unfortunate direction this thread has taken. I am the head of marketing for Karoo Taxidermy. I have been trying to get in contact with LDK to no avail. I can at this point in time not verify if he was in actual fact a client of Karoo Taxidermy.

I have been with the company for the past 14 years and have been part of the company's exponential growth since day one. Our motto has always been to produce a quality product, coupled with great client communication and a quick turnaround time at a realistic price. We are the preferred taxidermist for more than 50 hunting outfitters in South Africa, the majority of them supporting us in excess of 8 years. From the more than 700 international clients we serve annually, we have a multiple of repeat clientele. A success indicator to me is the number of trophies our past clients refer to us from all over Africa - Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Cameroon, Tanzania, and the CAR.

We are not claiming that we are the best in the world, but we are neither average nor are we "one of those African taxidermists" some like to refer to. We know our clients, we understand the Africa hunting industry, we know the pitfalls and red tape, and we know what it takes to get a client's trophies on the wall.

To claim that we never make mistakes will not be true - ask anyone with a large business. When you are shipping more than 5000 items per year, you can expect some issues to surface. I am proud to admit that these issues are few and far between, and when they do arise (we should be informed immediately!), we try our utmost to make it right.

Even though we are a large taxidermy company, we still give our clients a personalized experience one can sometimes expect from a smaller studio. Fortunately, we have facilities and resources to our disposal that a smaller taxidermy studio can only dream of.

We are proud to provide breadwinners with stable jobs that sustain more than 90 families in a rural town where an opportunity for the average local skilled person is pretty scarce. Our contribution to the community is meaningful and we are committed to continue doing this sustainably.

AH has given me the liberty to post a couple of pictures of our work on this thread. For this opportunity I am most grateful.

 

[Yaseen]

Has anyone dealt with or heard about Karoo Taxidermy? I'd be interested in hearing any info, good or bad.

I have. I've given them two skulls and two skins to do for me. Found them to be professional and not to pricey. Should be getting my skulls and skin by August. Will post pics

 

[LDK]

Just returned with clients from Africa and I see this thread is alive and well. Tim, to answer your question, 3 of us hunted with Bowker Safaris in July of 2007. Brad Coffey, Louis Resha and I left our trophies with Karoo Taxidermy out of Graaf Reinett, Eastern Cape, RSA at the end of our safari. It took around 14 months to received our trophies. I don't recall ever communicating with you, just a high school age young man, Jason I think was his name but I can't remember. What I do remember is the mounts. If there are other Karoo Taxidermy studio's in GR that were owned by a man named Frank and his brother, I am unaware of it. The photo's I posted are of some of the mounts I personally received. My clients fared no better, but make no mistake, the mounts were done by a Karoo Taxidermy. I've known other taxidermists in Africa, some good, some great and some terrible. After this problem we all use The Artistry of Wildlife in Michigan. I think the photo's speak for themselves.

 

[flyfishaz]

I have just of late become aware of the unfortunate direction this thread has taken. I am the head of marketing for Karoo Taxidermy. I have been trying to get in contact with LDK to no avail. I can at this point in time not verify if he was in actual fact a client of Karoo Taxidermy.

I have been with the company for the past 14 years and have been part of the company's exponential growth since day one. Our motto has always been to produce a quality product, coupled with great client communication and a quick turnaround time at a realistic price. We are the preferred taxidermist for more than 50 hunting outfitters in South Africa, the majority of them supporting us in excess of 8 years. From the more than 700 international clients we serve annually, we have a multiple of repeat clientele. A success indicator to me is the number of trophies our past clients refer to us from all over Africa - Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Cameroon, Tanzania, and the CAR.

We are not claiming that we are the best in the world, but we are neither average nor are we "one of those African taxidermists" some like to refer to. We know our clients, we understand the Africa hunting industry, we know the pitfalls and red tape, and we know what it takes to get a client's trophies on the wall.

To claim that we never make mistakes will not be true - ask anyone with a large business. When you are shipping more than 5000 items per year, you can expect some issues to surface. I am proud to admit that these issues are few and far between, and when they do arise (we should be informed immediately!), we try our utmost to make it right.

Even though we are a large taxidermy company, we still give our clients a personalized experience one can sometimes expect from a smaller studio. Fortunately, we have facilities and resources to our disposal that a smaller taxidermy studio can only dream of.

We are proud to provide breadwinners with stable jobs that sustain more than 90 families in a rural town where an opportunity for the average local skilled person is pretty scarce. Our contribution to the community is meaningful and we are committed to continue doing this sustainably.

AH has given me the liberty to post a couple of pictures of our work on this thread. For this opportunity I am most grateful.

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Hey Tim,

I hunted at Kikuyu Lodge with 5 of my friends. You came to dinner on the last day we were there. Eric & Wayne have already gotten there trophies back from you and they are very happy. Tim, Jason, and my trophies are on their way. I'll post my trophies here when they arrive.

John Gordanier

 

[Tim van Heerden]

Thank you John, you can be assured of our best service and quality workmanship!

 

[Tim van Heerden]

Just returned with clients from Africa and I see this thread is alive and well. Tim, to answer your question, 3 of us hunted with Bowker Safaris in July of 2007. Brad Coffey, Louis Resha and I left our trophies with Karoo Taxidermy out of Graaf Reinett, Eastern Cape, RSA at the end of our safari. It took around 14 months to received our trophies. I don't recall ever communicating with you, just a high school age young man, Jason I think was his name but I can't remember. What I do remember is the mounts. If there are other Karoo Taxidermy studio's in GR that were owned by a man named Frank and his brother, I am unaware of it. The photo's I posted are of some of the mounts I personally received. My clients fared no better, but make no mistake, the mounts were done by a Karoo Taxidermy. I've known other taxidermists in Africa, some good, some great and some terrible. After this problem we all use The Artistry of Wildlife in Michigan. I think the photo's speak for themselves.

 

[Tim van Heerden]

Hi Loyd. Apologies, this time it was me away on a Wingshooting Safari.

This was almost 10 years ago. I do remember you and the issues you expressed. I unfortunately do not have the the correspondence we had about this on hand and I cannot remember explicitly what transpired after you received your trophies. I am embarrassed to admit that we did in fact mount your trophies. I do not want to make excuses as this lack of quality workmanship should have never left our studio. At that time we did employ an aspiring artist as our studio manager. Unfortunately he had no concept with regards to quality control and needless to say, he did not last. It seems his bull did...
If I do remember correctly, we were talking well ahead of your safari too. If I can do anything for you to make amends please let me know.
When you are be back in SA, I would like to give you a tour of our new studio and facilities etc.

Sincerely yours,
Tim