Hunter Sues Local Taxidermist

[LacLaBicheNS]

He got my fish because there isn't many people who do real fish mounts anymore. In fact he's the only guy I could find and the only guy F and W knew of as well.

I think a lot of tax's get work because its hard to get work done. you call 4 or 5 tax's and ask how long till its doen and if they can take your animal. If all but one say "sorry I can't take anymore work" or "I can take it but it will be a year to get back because I am full" and the one guy says "ya I can take it, it will be done in 4 or 5 months".. you don't have much of a choice. I am guessing Clarence took anyone's animal who called and told them all it wouldn't take him long.

My assumptions anyways..


Again like others have said, its too bad because he does great work when he seems to put the effort into it. I would get another fish done by him in a heard beat. But probably not after all this bs.

[echo]

Originally Posted by Doodle30

Point is I thought you raised a fair point. How was this guy getting so much work?

just checking lol seems i took a little heat from a few people about my comment.

[nof60]

Originally Posted by huntinstuff

Exactly. If it cant be done in less than 2 years, you either need to work more, get some help, or learn to run a business properly.

Clarence is a nice man, but his shop is unorganized.

Pay a visit to Northfork in Whitehorse if you wanna see a taxidermy shop. Truly amazing.

And while there you can see them screw you in a very organized fashion. No doubt shane runs a class act but quotes 1400, bill is 2300 with all the add ons he forgot to mention up front. I told him to enjoy his new caribou and suddenly the bill was back to 1400. He wont see another animal from me. Plus his bears are just awful. However his sheep and boo are second to none. I guess its a screw me once shame on you, screw me twice shame on me kinda thing.

Earlier you said you pay close to 100 percent up front. I would be a little nervous buying a pig in a poke like that. Most of my experience have been OK but I have had a couple bad ones. I currently use Gary Hill for fish as he does a great fish and am shopping for a big game guy. Seems like you here horror stories about every one of them. Maybe time to take up yet another hobby cause with 2 little kids, dog racing, hunting, fishing, diving, volunteer fire dept and work I am still wasting about 4 hrs a night on sleep.

[Yéil]

Originally Posted by nof60

And while there you can see them screw you in a very organized fashion. No doubt shane runs a class act but quotes 1400, bill is 2300 with all the add ons he forgot to mention up front. I told him to enjoy his new caribou and suddenly the bill was back to 1400. He wont see another animal from me. Plus his bears are just awful. However his sheep and boo are second to none. I guess its a screw me once shame on you, screw me twice shame on me kinda thing.

Earlier you said you pay close to 100 percent up front. I would be a little nervous buying a pig in a poke like that. Most of my experience have been OK but I have had a couple bad ones. I currently use Gary Hill for fish as he does a great fish and am shopping for a big game guy. Seems like you here horror stories about every one of them. Maybe time to take up yet another hobby cause with 2 little kids, dog racing, hunting, fishing, diving, volunteer fire dept and work I am still wasting about 4 hrs a night on sleep.

Have you seen Yukon Grubaugh's work over at Tall Tales in Anchorage? He does some really nice mounts. Yukon does African work as well.

I wonder with Clarence if some of the problems are that he takes on work in anticipation of having an apprentice to help and then they go south on him by either leaving or doing icky work. By the sounds of it, his work is ok some of the time and then it gets bad... wonder if that is the product of an apprentice?

[horse_men]

With no answer at his shop for several days, does anyone have a suggestion as to what to do with regards to animals he still has of ours? If his business folds I don't see much chance of getting ones property/deposit $ back.

[Rackmastr]

Originally Posted by horse_men

With no answer at his shop for several days, does anyone have a suggestion as to what to do with regards to animals he still has of ours? If his business folds I don't see much chance of getting ones property/deposit $ back.

I went through some similar problems with a taxidermist out of Sundre a bunch of years back. Court cases, business closing, movings, etc.

In the end, I lost a really nice cinnamon coloured bear, a 41" moose I shot with my bow, 3 mule deer capes and a Merlin falcon I had a Found Dead Wildlife permit for.

I fought and fought trying to get stuff back and get things sorted out. In the end, I gave up.

I've dealt with 2 HORRIBLE taxidermists now, and never again. My last taxidermist I found is amazing, respectable, and a great business person. Its really a shame we have guys like this and bad business out there....

Hopefully everyone gets their stuff sorted out and Clarence can get his stuff taken care of and everyone can move on...

[Jameson340]

Originally Posted by horse_men

With no answer at his shop for several days, does anyone have a suggestion as to what to do with regards to animals he still has of ours? If his business folds I don't see much chance of getting ones property/deposit $ back.

Yeah i dont know.......iv contacted the police and the f&w, asked them both if they have had any other calls or cases on this, they didnt know what i was talking about. They said they can't do anything about it because its civil....not criminal. In other words you need spend a arm and leg on a lawyer to get anything out of him. Not sure what to do next......really just starting to look like im not getting my cinnamon bear back.

[Neo]

Originally Posted by Jameson340

They said they can't do anything about it because its civil....not criminal. In other words you need spend a arm and leg on a lawyer to get anything out of him. Not sure what to do next......really just starting to look like im not getting my cinnamon bear back.

Actually, for claims below a certain amount (the last time I looked, it was claims under $25,000), you don't need a lawyer at all -- you can file an action in small claims court. Just get the form, follow the instructions, and file at the courthouse. Not sure what the filing fee is now, but a few years back it was around $300. That gets the ball rolling. And when you get your time before a judge, you most definitely do not need a lawyer present -- small claims court pretty much assumes you'll be without legal respresentation.

That said, purely by coincidence, I was giving my trophy room a thorough once over, and the latest additions from Clarence's shop both showed signs of moth infestation that were not previously apparent when the mounts were picked up. Now I've got a bird mount in the garbage and a full-body mount of a grizzly getting bug bombed, boraxed, permethrined and moth-balled in an all-out chemical assault. Mercifully, I can find no signs that the infestation has spread to any of the other mounts in the room... But you know how this goes... Suffice it to say that every mount in the room is getting at least a weekly permethrin treatment for the next few months.

I'll be the first to admit that moths can occur in any manner of ways, and there's no way of proving that they were infected when I picked them up. And in any event, it really doesn't matter where I got the damn things from --the point is, I have them, and I need to not have them.

Assuming I can save the bear (it's slipping hair in several places, but loosely and not in clumps) and get the moths gone for good, I really should count myself lucky. This could have been a whole lot worse if not discovered relatively early.

I've learned my lesson, though -- my inspection regimen will be getting more regular than it's been...

[Lone_Wolf]

I have a Caribou (shoulder mount) done by Kriaski. It sure is nice. Going to be interesting to see how this case plays out.

[Jameson340]

Originally Posted by Neo

Actually, for claims below a certain amount (the last time I looked, it was claims under $25,000), you don't need a lawyer at all -- you can file an action in small claims court. Just get the form, follow the instructions, and file at the courthouse. Not sure what the filing fee is now, but a few years back it was around $300. That gets the ball rolling. And when you get your time before a judge, you most definitely do not need a lawyer present -- small claims court pretty much assumes you'll be without legal respresentation.

That said, purely by coincidence, I was giving my trophy room a thorough once over, and the latest additions from Clarence's shop both showed signs of moth infestation that were not previously apparent when the mounts were picked up. Now I've got a bird mount in the garbage and a full-body mount of a grizzly getting bug bombed, boraxed, permethrined and moth-balled in an all-out chemical assault. Mercifully, I can find no signs that the infestation has spread to any of the other mounts in the room... But you know how this goes... Suffice it to say that every mount in the room is getting at least a weekly permethrin treatment for the next few months.

I'll be the first to admit that moths can occur in any manner of ways, and there's no way of proving that they were infected when I picked them up. And in any event, it really doesn't matter where I got the damn things from --the point is, I have them, and I need to not have them.

Assuming I can save the bear (it's slipping hair in several places, but loosely and not in clumps) and get the moths gone for good, I really should count myself lucky. This could have been a whole lot worse if not discovered relatively early.

I've learned my lesson, though -- my inspection regimen will be getting more regular than it's been...

Thanks alot Neo, and sorry to hear about the infestation problem!! Hope you get it under control and save that grizz mount.

[diamond k]

Originally Posted by Jameson340

Yeah i dont know.......iv contacted the police and the f&w, asked them both if they have had any other calls or cases on this, they didnt know what i was talking about. They said they can't do anything about it because its civil....not criminal. In other words you need spend a arm and leg on a lawyer to get anything out of him. Not sure what to do next......really just starting to look like im not getting my cinnamon bear back.

I will call my buddy when he gets back from work rotation. He definitly spoke with them and they had some knowledge about it and took down all his information.

Would it not fall under the wildlife act for letting the hides be desrtoyed?

[echo]

Originally Posted by diamond k

I will call my buddy when he gets back from work rotation. He definitly spoke with them and they had some knowledge about it and took down all his information.

Would it not fall under the wildlife act for letting the hides be desrtoyed?

You a lawyer now ?

[C-GMIC]

So how did this finally pan out?

[badbrass]

He did a whitetail mount 27 years ago for me , still looks great! Sorry his work is not up to what it was!

[HARTXXX]

Dropped a hawk off in 2015 Nov. And haven't heard a word from the guy!!

[badbrass]

Had a whitetail done by him 20yrs. ago. A1 Work! 190. 7/8 NT. Things must have changed!

[J0HN_R1]

Originally Posted by HARTXXX

Dropped a hawk off in 2015 Nov. And haven't heard a word from the guy!!

What kind of Hawk, if I may ?

[kw12]

I had a wolf mount done by Clarence last year. It was done quick and looks amazing. He has also done a euro mount mule deer for me and everything went smooth. No complaints.

[Canadasnowman]

Originally Posted by avb3

Wasn't he known for his fish work?

Ya but he did a crappy job on his SILVERFISH ....... They aren't so nice .......... Mowhaha

[58thecat]

I have dealt with a few wankers like this in the past but what I will do is ask for references, if no references given, see ya wanker.
When I do find a place I like I give them something simple to carry out, I take into consideration time, money, quality and then see if I will repeat my business with that outfit. I sure as heck would not dump a truck load of work on a outfit and hope for the best, that being said hope the customer gets something back out of this.

[Pathfinder76]

This thread is five years old.

[Don K]

Originally Posted by chuck

This thread is five years old.

Maybe so, but he's still around so it's good info for guys that are thinking of using him.

What was the outcome of the charges?

[dustinjoels]

I used Clarence for my 2015 camp wainwright mule deer. Price was fair. Took about a year to complete. Quality was good. No complaints.

Some of the wolf mounts he had in his shop looked amazing by the way.

[last minute]

Never had a problem with him I like his work

[imatreestander]

I shot a 6 1/2 foot bear last spring.Not having a freezer or anywhere to freeze it until i got to my usual guy, i took it to Clarence and it looks fantastic .Couldnt be happier and i got it back the week before xmas . Ron

[Who Da Fisherman]

Originally Posted by HARTXXX

Dropped a hawk off in 2015 Nov. And haven't heard a word from the guy!!

Have you called him? Stopped by is shop? Sent an email?
Or do you just sit by your phone waiting for him to call you?
Guess if you haven't heard from him it is time for you to take it upon yourself to find out what is going on. When you do let us know.
We will sitting here waiting to here from you lol.
WDF

[Richftmac]

In my opinion Clarences work has gone down hill in the past 5 years, he did and mule deer and musk ox shoulder mount that look great. in the last 3 years a stone sheep and brown phase black bear were terrible. Shop was a mess and smelled as mentioned before.

[kw12]

Originally Posted by Who Da Fisherman

Have you called him? Stopped by is shop? Sent an email?
Or do you just sit by your phone waiting for him to call you?
Guess if you haven't heard from him it is time for you to take it upon yourself to find out what is going on. When you do let us know.
We will sitting here waiting to here from you lol.
WDF

Ya he seems to answer the phone every time I call him funny how he never answers when you call. I've called him from a few different numbers and he always answers. People love to bash people but usually when it comes right down to it they would rather sit on the computer and bash people rather than running down to his shop or making a phone call.

[Hunter4ever12]

Originally Posted by Who Da Fisherman

Have you called him? Stopped by is shop? Sent an email?
Or do you just sit by your phone waiting for him to call you?
Guess if you haven't heard from him it is time for you to take it upon yourself to find out what is going on. When you do let us know.
We will sitting here waiting to here from you lol.
WDF

Shouldn't have to call him or check in,your paying the man to do a service. Why is it the consumers job to have to see how process is being? Think if he's backed up or having issues should be up to them to call the consumer and let the know what's going.

[Hunter4ever12]

Originally Posted by kw12

Ya he seems to answer the phone every time I call him funny how he never answers when you call. I've called him from a few different numbers and he always answers. People love to bash people but usually when it comes right down to it they would rather sit on the computer and bash people rather than running down to his shop or making a phone call.

And that's what the worlds come too,consumer has to check in and babysit the whole process. Your paying money you should be the one who's answering calls from them.