Replicas Only for Hawkins - Spring 2008

We will close the taxidermy division of our company in early 2009 on our 100th Anniversary.

As of May 15, 2008 Hawkins will no longer be accepting traditional taxidermy work. Some of the reasons for our difficult decision are as follows:

1. US Fish & Wildlife "Fees" - The US Fish & Wildlife Service is applying a fee of $75 for every item we ship to the US. They charge $110 for CITIES specimens like bears and wolves. According to an email newsletter from SCI, "This fee will also increase by small amounts each year, rising to $145 in 2012." The following is a link to the "Proposed Fee Schedule". Take notice of the increases in future years.

http://www.fws.gov/le/pdffiles/InspectionFeeIncreases-Q&As.pdf

http://www.fws.gov/le/pdffiles/InspectionFeeIncreases-ProposedRule.pdf

"Consolidated freight that constitutes multiple importers and/or exporters is not treated as a single Service shipment even if the consolidation is under one waybill. We require a declaration for each shipment, and each declaration must identify one specific importer and
one specific exporter. "
http://www.fws.gov/le/PubBulletins/PBConsolidatedFreight.htm

The base rate is applied to each trophy. So if a hunter from the U.S. has two caribou that will cost him $150.00 ($75 per caribou). Even if we are sending a tiny traditionally mounted perch it will cost our customer $75.00.

In late June 2008 a delegation of US Fish & Wildlife officials came to our Winnipeg location as "we are their best customers" After we told them that we are closing our doors to the increased fees we were told the fees are going up over the summer. Apparently everything will cost $110 with exception of bears, wolves and other cites specimens. They will be around $155. These fees are per animal not per shipment.

2. Permit Issues - To get all the proper permits to ship a trophy mount to the U.S. it can take up to 3-4 months. So if a customer wants to pick his trophy when he comes back to Canada to hunt he has to plan ahead. In addition if he can't bring his trophy home due to permit delays he will face the extra charges by the US Fish & Wildlife Service. If the customer simply brings his trophy home there are no permits and fees. We have had delays in permits provincially, federally and from the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

3. Exchange Rate - All of us in the industry have faced challenges with the current US/CND exchange rate. If you take in the fees above with the exchange rate we can no longer be competitive with our US customers.

4. Provincial Cervid Import Regulations - The Manitoba Provincial Government is only allowing cervids (deer, moose, elk and caribou) allowed into our province if they are processed a certain way due to concerns about the transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Most hunters do not know how to properly cape out a trophy in the field. It is also hard for us to acquire heated facilities in November and December to process the trophies before they are shipped into Manitoba.