Hi Frank,
Welcome to the Wildlife Importers Club (anybody need a mountain gorilla or a
snow leopard??)  Yes I have run into the same problems with parcels coming
in through San Francisco and New York.  For a couple of years I paid my
fifty bucks and got my "wildlife importer's license".  But, as you said, the
fifty dollars is nothing compared to the inspection fees and delays.  But
they won't even do the inspection and charge you those fees until all the
paperwork is in perfect order.  Then they charge you storage fees for the
time they held up your shipment before doing the inspection!  That amounted
to 6 weeks for one shipment held up in New York.  The shipments I am
referring to came either air express or surface mail.  Some of my suppliers
have switched to Federal Express or other similar carriers, which for some
reason don't seem to be affected by all this nonsense.  Someone sends me a
parcel FedEx from the Philippines, it's on my doorstep three days later.
Interesting that UPS does come under these regulations.  One Philippine
supplier sends his stuff by an outfit called Johnny Air Freight - not a name
to inspire confidence perhaps, but they have been just as reliable and just
as fast as FedEx - and just as free of rigmarole.
Paul Monfils