African Outfitter is an independent international bimonthly publication promoting
fair hunting and ethical business practices within the hunting industry.
From a hunting perspective, the preservation of biodiversity on the
African continent is the first and foremost priority. The emphasis
is however also on the sustainable utilisation of wildlife.

African Outfitter Back Issues: CONTENTS - December 2005 / January 2006 - (Vol 1/1)

From Angola to Pretoria – The success story of Taxidermy International

by Mauritz Coetzee

In the early 1950's, Avelino Ramos Pereira arrived with his parents in Angola from Portugal. Growing up in the then hunting paradise of Angola, Avelino started his hunting career at a young age.

Avelino's interest in taxidermy activities really started after he completed his army training. He became deeply involved with the tanning of zebra and other game skins. According to Avelino, taxidermy as such at that time was still a rather unknown activity in Angola.

Due to the instability which had developed in Angola during the period 1974 – 1975, Avelino and his family departed for the former South-West Africa. Many Angolan Portuguese citizens decided to return to Portugal or to stay in South Africa. Avelino, like some other Portuguese families, decided to come to South Africa.

Initially all the refugees from Angola were housed in a camp near Cullinan. Finding a job proofed to be quite difficult and Avelino was unsuccessful in obtaining even temporary work in Pretoria or Johannesburg. He had no choice but to try and find work, particularly taxidermy work, elsewhere in South Africa.

Following a suggestion from a close friend, Avelino ended up in Kimberley. Thanks to the efforts of a certain Dr. Liversage, a well-known ornithologist in the Kimberley area, Avelino was offered a job at the Kimberley Museum. For the next 10 years he was responsible for taking care of the trophies/displays of especially birds in the museum.

However, as time permitted he also applied himself thoroughly to general taxidermy work on larger animals. This included the development of new moulds for certain animal species. This aspect laid the foundation for taxidermy work performed by Avelino and his family, namely the portraying of wildlife and game in a manner that reflects their natural beauty.

Whilst in Kimberley, he also started a small taxidermy business and joined the Taxidermy Association in 1982. Due to a business proposition he became part of Nico van Rooyen's taxidermy business in 1987. Ironically he and his family had finally found a permanent home in Pretoria.

In 1990 he left the employment of Nico van Rooyen to join up with Dieter Ochsenbein's Highveld Taxidermy. His son JoaĠ also became part of Dieter's concern in 1990. In 1995, Avelino decided to start his own business and opened a new shop in the Garankuwa industrial area.

Starting out initially with only three workers the business quickly expanded to a workforce of 12. Due to hard work and the delivery of quality trophies the name of Mofeny Taxidermy became well-known amongst local and overseas hunters.

As part of a joint business venture with another partner, Avelino decided to move his factory to the Derdepoort area in Pretoria. At this time he also decided to enlarge the factory itself to much greater proportions. The administrative section was taken over by Avelino's daughter, Carla, whilst JoaĠ (Joe) became the general manager of the factory. Today Avelino is only involved in the business in an advisory capacity. His main passion still remains the creation of special moulds for specific animals. Apart from this he also applies himself to full mounts, especially those that depict interaction between predator and prey.

The company Taxidermy International currently has a workforce of 30 people. Trophy output per month is approximately 80 to 90 animals whilst the completion of full-mount trophies averages 8 to 10 per month.

Looking back Avelino is still very passionate about the art of taxidermy. The ability to give an animal a second life, reflecting its beauty to the fullest, remains his main concern. This passion is also shared by JoaĠ, a trophy hunter himself.

Having said this, the Pereira family has never regretted their involvement in taxidermy. As anybody involved in this profession knows so well, there are times that your patience is tested to the limit. A few examples are clients with unreasonable expectations regarding waiting periods, receipt of skins and capes that were not properly treated and lawsuits between clients and professional hunters. Add to this the difficulty of trying to obtain certain documents from state departments and one would expect that with time taxidermists would lose their passion for their work. Not so with the Pereira family – pride and commitment have become their trademark and the driving force behind Taxidermy International.