Trophy Fees

[Rafiki]

"Trophy Fees" have been a curiosity to me since I went to Tanzania. I had assumed that they are $$$'s that go to the wildlife department of the respective country but apparently that is not entirely true. This became evident when I learned that what I paid was not consistent with others that were sharing the same camp at the same time. I searched for info specific to TZ and found that 1st buffalo taken is $600. Correct or not that is far less than the several thousand we typically pay for buffalo. This got me to wondering what part of the "trophy fees" go to some governmental use (wildlife department, community development, anti-poaching, etc.) and what part goes to the operators (camp, PH's, etc.). Of course these fees are only paid at the successful conclusion of the hunt and the priceless lifetime of memories. Still I would like to know what is typically bundled into those Trophy Fees.

 

[HankBuck]

"Trophy Fees" have been a curiosity to me since I went to Tanzania. I had assumed that they are $$$'s that go to the wildlife department of the respective country but apparently that is not entirely true. This became evident when I learned that what I paid was not consistent with others that were sharing the same camp at the same time. I searched for info specific to TZ and found that 1st buffalo taken is $600. Correct or not that is far less than the several thousand we typically pay for buffalo. This got me to wondering what part of the "trophy fees" go to some governmental use (wildlife department, community development, anti-poaching, etc.) and what part goes to the operators (camp, PH's, etc.). Of course these fees are only paid at the successful conclusion of the hunt and the priceless lifetime of memories. Still I would like to know what is typically bundled into those Trophy Fees.

Rafiki, i did Not know this and find it very interesting if true. When I hunted TZ in 2006 my Buff ”trophy fee” was about $1100 and maybe within another $100 for 2nd & 3rd on my license. I assumed the entire amount was set by the Government because they soon almost doubled… and there would be no reason for an outfitter Increase rates like that ??

 

[375Fox]

Outfitters make their profits off a combination of the daily rate and trophy fees. Lower daily rates and higher trophy fees put some of the accountability back on the outfitter and take some of the risk away from the client. What they choose to put into anti-poaching and community development is partly up to them and likely partly part of contract agreements. They had to make a bid on the area and make payments regardless. The better outfitters/areas obviously cycle more money back into the area than others.

It is strange that you were paying different trophy fees than others. Did you book directly with the outfitter operating the area or did you book with an outfitter buying quota from the operator?

 

[Rafiki]

Rafiki, i did Not know this and find it very interesting if true. When I hunted TZ in 2006 my Buff ”trophy fee” was about $1100 and maybe within another $100 for 2nd & 3rd on my license. I assumed the entire amount was set by the Government because they soon almost doubled… and there would be no reason for an outfitter Increase rates like that ??

Just to be extra clear, the $600 I stated was the result of a search and I have no other information to support that. I'm hoping that someone on this forum can offer some clarity on the numbers. What I do know for a fact is that what I paid in 2022 was $1000/buffalo different than another hunter I shared a camp with but he was hunting with another operator.

 

[Rafiki]

Outfitters make their profits off a combination of the daily rate and trophy fees. Lower daily rates and higher trophy fees put some of the accountability back on the outfitter and take some of the risk away from the client. What they choose to put into anti-poaching and community development is partly up to them and likely partly part of contract agreements. They had to make a bid on the area and make payments regardless. The better outfitters/areas obviously cycle more money back into the area than others.

It is strange that you were paying different trophy fees than others. Did you book directly with the outfitter operating the area or did you book with an outfitter buying quota from the operator?

I booked via a US booking agent. I have no complaints just asking a question here that I'm curious about. As I understand it many if not most book a buffalo hunt that includes i buffalo fee, I didn't do that.

Thanks for clearing some of this stuff up.

 

[ActionBob]

I think our buffalo trophy fees were $3000 (but included in our packages), 2nd $3500, 3rd $4000. 4th $4500.

 

[Rare Breed]

Outfitters make their profits off a combination of the daily rate and trophy fees. Lower daily rates and higher trophy fees put some of the accountability back on the outfitter and take some of the risk away from the client. What they choose to put into anti-poaching and community development is partly up to them and likely partly part of contract agreements. They had to make a bid on the area and make payments regardless. The better outfitters/areas obviously cycle more money back into the area than others.

It is strange that you were paying different trophy fees than others. Did you book directly with the outfitter operating the area or did you book with an outfitter buying quota from the operator?

Interesting. Given I am a researcher when I looked in Zim using an elephant as the example I found an outfitters cost was $12,000 and the hunter charge of $14,000 shows not much profit in trophy fees while day rates of almost $1,000 per day is where I see profit. Just one country example from 2023

 

[Cme1983]

When some of the PH’s in Africa wake up, it will be interesting to know the answer regarding the mark up of trophy fees. It has been my understanding that most of the profit is indeed in those day rates.

 

[375Fox]

Interesting. Given I am a researcher when I looked in Zim using an elephant as the example I found an outfitters cost was $12,000 and the hunter charge of $14,000 shows not much profit in trophy fees while day rates of almost $1,000 per day is where I see profit. Just one country example from

Every outfitter will be different, I’d agree the bulk of income for most dangerous game concessions comes from the daily rates but no outfitter is charging just community or government trophy fees. They are also paying off their bid on the areas. I’ve hunted in concessions the outfitter was required by contract to pay a portion of the trophy fees whether harvested or not then additional payments thereafter. There are a lot of different types of agreements made on areas. Outfitters actually operating concession areas take on a lot of risks that don’t occur on private land.

 

[Hunt anything]

In government areas there is a government license fee many times lumped in with the trophy fee that was set by the outfitter. Speaking of Mozambique only which I have experience.When I hunted there the advertised trophy fee was around $3500 $1000 of which was the govt license fee and the rest went to the outfitter if successful only. The government gets its cut no matter what.

 

[Doug3006]

There must be an almost infinite number of pricing models out there. I‘ve long known that the permits purchased by the outfitter (always ahead of the season…so no guarantee that the tag will be filled) are marked up to be part of the outfitter’s income stream. I have no problem with that. I’ve also noticed, that the prices charged American customers is often higher than hunters from Europe. That’s a bit harder to understand.

 

[375Fox]

I’ve also noticed, that the prices charged American customers is often higher than hunters from Europe. That’s a bit harder to understand.

This has been written on AH several times but I’ve yet to see any proof of it. It seems more to me there are outfitters catering to the American market and outfitters catering to the European market that may have different price lists in similar areas.

 

[Doug3006]

I’ve noticed it mostly in Namibia. Comparing price lists from DSC to Dortmund and US to European booking sites.

 

[wesheltonj]

I’ve priced out Tanzania and for the daily fee and trophy fee the low was 60k and the high was 90k. The average daily fee for a 10 day hunting on a 21 day license is 45k. The trophy fees ranged wildly