Disclaimer:
No, he is not alive. No, I did not kill him, nor did I buy him to be killed. I have high respects for all animals, dead and alive. I simply appreciate the beauty of them through taxidermy. No I do not support the hunting / breeding / killing of animals. I am just attempting to raise awareness and get people to think about what they are doing before they jump on the bandwagon. Buying a pelt isn't like buying a book, the consequences are completely different! I respect your opinion, so please respect mine.

So I wanted to get this straight with everyone, I like taxidermy and I hate it at the same time. I have had a lot of people, friends and strangers asking me how I justify keeping taxidermy / supporting and hating it etc. So I wanted to give you all a run down, and to be honest I want people to think about things like this more. I am seeing that Taxidermy is a trendy thing online lately, and I just want to give people a chance to think about it / hear my opinion on the situation. I am in no way trying to start anything with anyone, or flame any group of people etc.

(as more questions come I will post more continue to ask in a mature fashion PLEASE!)


Question 1: So, how do you justify taxidermy when people bring up things like fur farming?

I am not in support of fur farms, I personally can’t stand them. I know not everyone treats their animals poorly, but still the thought of raising these animals for pretty fur and then killing them when they are young for said fur is wrong. Humans shouldn’t have the right to control life like that.
It is also important to know that I don't justify it. I mean I do and don't. I research very heavily where my pelts are coming from, because I hate not knowing where they come from. But i have my reasons for having them as well. If you want to know about that as well I can tell you a bit more, though it'll probably sound cheesy / lame.


Question 2: Seeing images of these animals on fur farms / their bodies is painful! But why did I still like these soft mounts / pelts?

As for why you like them? I would say they are beautiful, it’s very neat to have a whole animal in your lap you would never have that opportunity at any other point. I meant they are really cool, but there are a lot of negative consequences to go along with them! These are things we need to consider.


Question 3: How did you find your pelts in the first place, and still be able to research where they came from?

I spend a LOT of time back tracking from owner to artist etc. to find out where my animals are coming from. I can’t deal with not knowing where they came from. Also I really want people to acknowledge you are not just taking a pelt into your home, often you are welcoming a spirit connected to that animal, and people should pay attention and acknowledge that there is some sort of spirit with these ‘pelts’.


Question 4: I want to preserve an animal / road kill etc to admire it etc.

I get that, I appreciate that. But to be honest we have enough things in this world as humans, and an animal that get his by a car should be allowed to decompose and return to the earth from whence it came. I mean in all honesty, it’s wrong to take something and stuff it full of chemicals simply to appreciate it (As much as I do appreciate them). These things should be returned to the earth. That is really the best scenario.


Question 5: How do you justify keeping Pepper (Whitemark Fox) he is a ranched color etc.

So Pepper.
Basically I have been watching Pepper for a few months( Prior to getting him).
I didn't think he was ever for sale nor did I ever think I would have the opportunity to own him. So when I saw he was for sale I was stunned as to why anyone would ever want to get rid of such a beautiful fox. Now to be honest he wasn't a collecting thing, or just cause he was pretty. After reading through the comments listed below by many people I had discovered that Pepper had been through many homes.
This of course made we want to scoop the poor boy up and take him home, just cause he had been through so many homes. The further I dug into it the worse the story / situation with him became.
I set up a trade to get him.
Basically when it started out I felt bad because he was being passed around between (what I thought what five owners at the time) because he isn't perfect. He is an older mount - so no one really wanted him based on that and he had some damages.
More than that I thought it was unfortunate he wasn't being appreciated / given a place to rest. I mean honestly that is what is left of him / his remains. Kind of like passing grandma's urn around. I don't know it just bothered me. Of course before committing to him I started to do my research of where he came from, as I do not support ranched fur etc.
Sooo. I found out that he was a breeder on an exotic pet farm. Which is an iffy scenario, but he was at least well cared for as he had to have been given his fur condition and what he was being used for. In the end the boy was put down due to lung infections and someone who knew the breeder personally asked for/ bought the pelt.
From that point he was mounted and sent to a new home. After that I have now since discovered he has been through nine homes before me. I am his last home. Some of his owners were less then nice to him as he does have his damages...
Pepper is a rescue Pup, and I am just trying to show him more respect than people before me have. That is pretty much all there is to that. However I will also say that he is more then just a pelt or a rescue pup. He has his own spirit with him, and I do my best to cater to him and try to make him at least a little ‘happier’. When I first got Pepper he was a demanding clingy thing, and now he is a bit more distant then he used to be, so I am hoping he is ready to move on… Also one thing on the fur farming / breeder. Yes it is better that he was a breeder then farmed fur in a wire cage, but still not the best situation, but given the situation he was in and basically having a natural death is pretty much the best scenario he could have had for a fox of his variety, but I do not support exotic per breeding either.


Question 6: How did you get into taxidermy / start with these opinions in place?

Now Odin is where it started, and where it gets tricky to explain.
I Traded for / bought Odin out of curiosity in a way. In the way that hey these are cool.
I still had my opinions about fur / hunting / the fur trade etc / taxidermy.
Butttt my opinions were not as well formed at the time - however I do not regret getting Odin.
Basically I got him, picked him up out of the box and was instantly in love. The connection I had with him was crazy, stirring in a way. Now describing that connection is not something I can quite do in words... or not sure how to describe that. But essentially Odin became my totem. Which these things I did not know at the time until I met a good friend of mine.
When I met hir I think one of the first conversations we had was about Odin. Why did I get him and I got my fair share of flaming / debating that day, which I understand the negatives of having him etc. But still he was important to me. The coyote has always been important to me, which it still is obviously.
That.
Buttttt my friend showed me things which I read over and learned things that totally made sense / applied to my life. In the sense of a coyote being my totem, and in my eyes Odin being physically there as my totem. So I mean all and all the story for Odin is a bit shorter, but he is far more powerful / important to me. He is kinda my go to guardian. I mean like honestly, if I am having a horrid day his presence eases that a bit, which is odd. I mean he is this preserved piece of skin, and yet he has this strong impact on me. It’s amazing, that’s why I have Odin, that’s why he is so important to me. I often wonder if I had an association with Odin in a past life, one of his past lives etc. It’s very strange it is.
AS far as how he died, he was population control in Idaho or Montana I believe. (Can't remember at the moment.) Which while that still isn't good in some cases I agree with it, and in the case of coyotes I believe that population control is justified. It is sometimes needed to keep an eco system in check, as some animals do thrive to well. I don’t like population control in the sense of there is too many coyotes / foxes in our neighbor hood etc. But when the predator prey ratio is actually thrown off it is a problem. This is also where I get really bothered where things like wolf / deer hunting come up. But I won’t get into that unless someone asks.



So I just want everyone to think about Taxidermy before you jump on the bandwagon, by buying pelts or commissioning soft mounts do know that you are supporting things like hunting, population control exotic breeding and Fur farming. It’s sad but true, and I am not ill informed on any of these subjects – though feel free to share information with me. I am fairly well educated about these things at this point. I just feel the need to share my beliefs on it. Also I am not some crazy Vegan, but I did give up meat in February after doing my own research and to be honest I wish I would have made the choice sooner.