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What is a Taxidermist?

A Taxidermist reconstructs and then mounts for display, dead animals, birds, mammals and fish. Some taxidermists work in museums, others for commercial firms or for themselves from home. They may work on their own or with others in small groups. Most Taxidermists spend their entire day in a workshop.

Large companies may employ people for different aspects of Taxidermy such as skinner & tanner, model maker, painter & finisher etc. Hours with commerical firms and museums can be flexible and part-time work is available. You can expect to earn anything from around £12,000 to £50,000 a year.

Taxidermists need be registered and are inspected to ensure that they comply with very strict requirements for the collection, preservation and sale of specimens.

How do Taxidermists reconstruct dead animals?

They do this by:

• Finding roadkill specimens or sporting casualities.
• They study the natural pose of the species found so that they can accurately reconstruct them with a life like pose.
• They may sketch pictures
• They skin the animal
• The skins are then 'tanned' to preserve and protect them. This usually involves 'fleshing' the hide. You need to be fairly strong to do this for large game skins.
• They then make a framework to mould this skin around. They do this using wood, steel rods, plastic, polyurethane foam, fibreglass or papier-mâché
• The skin is then arranged around the framework and the skull is attached
• After fitting and sewing the skin into place, patchy areas of flesh can be re-coloured and any feathers, fur, teeth, claws etc can be added.
• The specimen is finally mounted in a natural looking habitat display.
• Once finished, the taxidermist must complete a log for each specimen, including the full name of the species, its place of habitat, natural habits, and where, when and how it was acquired. They also need evidence of how any legally protected animals died.

What qualifications do I need to get a job as a Taxidermist?

There are no nationally recognized entry requirements for commercial taxidermy but if you are applying for a junior post with a museum, good grades in English, Maths, Art and Biology are helpful. As are art, design and craft qualifications.

A Taxidermist should have:

• A good knowledge of wildlife
• A strong constitution as working with dead things can be very ‘icky’.
• Good eyesight and attention to detail
• Good concentration and patience
• Artistic and craft skills
• No allergies to animals, fur, feathers, dust or anything related to the work.
• Good written/IT and verbal skills for dealing with customer enquiries and completing log book records.
• Numeracy skills
• Problem solving and planning skills.
  You need to be able to create your display as realistically and visually appealing as possible and will need to plan out exactly what is needed in terms of materials before you can begin.
• Team work, incase you are working alongside others.

How do I learn Taxidermy?

Taxidermy with a firm will involve on-the-job training and this can be lengthy. A commercial taxidermy firms 'traditional' apprenticeships can last anything from three to five or more years.

The Guild of Taxidermists runs seminars on specialised aspects and offers the Qualification of Professional Accredited Member of The Guild of Taxidermists to those who produce a number of satisfactory mounts of various types of animal.

Private training providers offer a few short courses in taxidermy. You should research these courses to make sure they offer useful training and are value for money.

Courses in natural sciences or specimen conservation provide an excellent background for Taxidermy work.

Some commercial taxidermy firms offer Apprenticeships.
Bear in mind you may not be paid very much while completing an apprenticeship though it will vary depending where and whom you work for.

Where do I find jobs for Taxidermy?

This is a competitive area of work with more applicants seeking full time positions than are available. You could apply initially for voluntary work in a museum as a way to gain experience and to see how a museum operates.

You could also try:

Searching the web and other media for taxidermy/conservation firms/museums etc in the region that you live. You could then send prospective employers your CV and covering letter to keep on file should a post become available.

Many applicants seek work in Europe, Africa or the USA. The USA and Africa having a large sport hunting population and so a need for more privately owned collections.

The Guild of Taxidermists may be able to help with finding employers in the UK.

Other useful sources are:

The Guild of Taxidermists www.taxidermy.org.uk

Natural Sciences Collections Association, www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/natSCA

Taxidermy forum www.taxidermy.net/forum

Taxidermy site www.taxidermy.net

International Taxidermy Associations

National Taxidermists Association
Canadian Taxidermy Association
British Columbia Taxidermy Artistry Association
L'association de Taxidermie du Québec
European Taxidermy Federation
British Historical Taxidermy Society
Association of Commercial Taxidermists and Game Skin Tanners
The Taxidermy Association of South Africa
New Zealand Taxidermy Association
Japan Taxidermy Association
President: Ken Amagasaki, 2-7-1 Yaoi, Bunkyo-kv, Tokyo, Japan 113. Fax: (Japan) 03-813-1426.
Le Syndicat des Naturalistes de France
Sveriges Zoologiska Konservatorer
Associazione Tassidermisti Italiani
Verband Naturwissenschaftlicher Präparatorinnen und Präparatoren der Schweiz