What Can a Taxidermist Do with Abandoned Mounts?

By MountChief Editorial Team|Updated Mar 2026

The short answer: After a documented waiting period, typically 30-180 days past completion notice, depending on state law, and good-faith attempts to contact the customer, most taxidermists can legally sell or dispose of abandoned mounts. The exact rules are set by state abandoned property or bailment law, and they vary significantly.

This is one of those areas where doing things right from the beginning (your intake form) determines how much protection you have later.

TL;DR

Most states require you to send written notice to the customer before you can legally dispose of an abandoned mount.
Minimum holding periods before disposal range from 60 days to one year depending on the state.
Selling an abandoned mount without following proper legal process can expose you to civil liability.
Keep records of all notices sent and all attempts to contact customers about unclaimed mounts.
Require customers to sign an abandonment policy agreement at intake to reinforce your legal position.

Why Abandoned Mounts Happen

It happens more often than you'd expect. A customer drops off a deer cape in November, pays a deposit, and then:

Life circumstances change (divorce, relocation, financial problems)
The customer dies (more common with older hunters)
The customer is unhappy about the timeline and has silently moved on
The customer simply forgets

Six months after your "ready for pickup" notification, you've got a finished mount taking up shelf space, a balance unpaid, and a customer who isn't responding.

Your Intake Form Is Your Protection

The right time to address abandoned mounts is at intake, before the work starts. Your intake form should explicitly state:

The customer must pick up within [X days/months] of receiving notification that the mount is complete
Storage fees of $[X]/month apply after [X days] past the notification date
Mounts not claimed within [X months] of notification will be considered abandoned and subject to [sale/disposal] under [state law reference]
Deposit is non-refundable in all circumstances

Get the customer's signature on this policy. MountChief's digital intake form captures this signature and timestamps it. Without a signed policy, your leverage in an abandoned mount situation is limited.

State Law Governs, Know Yours

The legal mechanism for disposing of abandoned property is set by state law, usually under "bailment" principles (you were holding the property on behalf of the owner) or specific abandoned property statutes.

Common provisions across states:

A specified waiting period after good-faith attempts to notify the customer (30-180 days is typical)
Written notice sent to the customer's last known address (often certified mail is required)
A right to charge storage fees during the waiting period
After the waiting period, the right to sell the property to recover costs and dispose of remaining value

What you typically can't do:

Sell immediately without attempting to notify the customer
Dispose of abandoned property without following your state's process
Keep the full sale price if it exceeds what the customer owes you (excess may need to go to state unclaimed property)

Check with an attorney in your state for the specific process. A $200 consultation to understand your rights is worth it if you're holding several hundred dollars worth of unclaimed mounts.

For Species with CITES Documentation

If an abandoned mount is a CITES-regulated species (African game, mountain lion, alligator), the abandoned property process becomes more complex. The CITES permit was issued for a specific transaction with a specific owner. Reselling a CITES specimen under an abandoned property process may require coordination with USFWS.

For CITES-regulated abandoned specimens, consult with a wildlife attorney before selling. The cost of a call is far less than the cost of getting this wrong.

Practical Steps for an Abandoned Mount

Send the pickup notification via the method in your intake form (text and email via MountChief, or direct call) and document the date
Follow up at 30 days if no response, again in writing
Follow up at 60 days with a formal notice that the mount will be considered abandoned
Send certified mail at 60-90 days to the last known address
Wait the required period under your state's law from the date of your formal notice
Document everything, dates of all contact attempts, method, outcome
Sell or dispose after the legal waiting period has passed

Using MountChief to Track Abandoned Mount Risk

MountChief shows you every mount that's been in "Ready for Pickup" status for more than [X] days. Running this report monthly lets you catch abandoned mount situations early, at 30 days past notification rather than at 90 days when you suddenly notice a shelf full of unclaimed pieces.

The automated ready-for-pickup notifications help prevent abandonment in the first place: customers who receive a text and email when their mount is finished and a follow-up reminder at 30 days are much more likely to pick up promptly.

Preventing Abandoned Mounts

The best abandoned mount strategy is prevention:

Get current email and phone at intake, not just one contact method
Require a substantial enough deposit that abandonment has real financial consequences for the customer
Send the pickup notification as soon as a mount is ready, via both text and email
Follow up at 30 days automatically
Have a storage fee policy that creates financial pressure to pick up

A $20/month storage fee starting at 60 days past notification is both a revenue offset for the inconvenience and a genuine incentive for customers to act.

FAQ

Can I sell an abandoned mount for my exact cost, or for market value?

Typically you can charge what you need to recover your costs (remaining balance + storage fees + any costs of sale). Whether you can keep any excess above your costs depends on state law, many states require the excess to be escheated (turned over to the state) or held for the customer if they eventually appear. This is why knowing your state's specific process matters.

What if the customer shows up after I've already sold the mount?

This is the liability risk of not following the legal process carefully. If you followed your state's required process, documented everything, and waited the required period, you're generally protected. If you sold without following proper procedure, you may owe the customer the value of the mount minus what they owed. Proper process and documentation is the protection.

My intake form doesn't say anything about abandoned mounts. Am I protected?

Partially, you likely still have rights under state bailment law even without an explicit policy in your intake form. But your legal position is much stronger with a signed policy that the customer agreed to upfront. Add abandoned property language to your intake form immediately for all future customers. For existing customers without that language, rely on state law and document everything carefully.

What can I do with a mount a customer has not picked up for two years?

The specific steps depend on your state's abandoned property law and any agreement you made with the customer at intake. Generally, you must send a formal written notice to the customer's last known address, wait the required holding period, and then follow your state's specified disposal process. Some states allow sale, some require destruction, and some allow donation to educational institutions. Consult your state's statutes or an attorney before taking any disposal action.

How do I prevent abandoned mounts in the first place?

Require customers to sign a written agreement at intake that specifies a pickup deadline and the consequences of failing to pick up. Charge a storage fee after the mount is ready and the pickup deadline has passed. Send proactive communication when the mount is complete and follow up at 30-day intervals if the customer does not respond. Most abandoned mounts result from customers who lost contact with the shop rather than intentional abandonment.

Do I have to keep storing a mount if a customer refuses to pay the balance?

Your state's lien laws may give you the right to retain the mount until the balance is paid, or to sell it after proper notice to recover your costs. This is separate from the abandoned property process and depends on your state's specific lien statutes for service businesses. Document all communications about the unpaid balance in writing.

Try These Free Tools

Put these insights into practice with our free calculators and planners:

Sources

National Taxidermists Association (NTA)
State wildlife agencies
State abandoned property statutes (varies by state)

Get Started with MountChief

Abandoned mounts are a problem every shop eventually faces, and the paperwork you do at intake is what determines your options later. MountChief's intake system captures customer agreements, contact information, and job history in one place so you have complete documentation if a job is ever abandoned. Try MountChief to protect yourself before the situation arises.