Visited a taxidermy studio last month... not what I expected

My cousin runs a small taxidermy place in Portland, and I stopped by to see what it was like. She had a box of 200 deer tails just sitting there, said they're worth more than the meat sometimes. Has anyone else walked into a weird workspace and realized how much stuff people actually pay for?

3 comments

3 Comments

anna49121d agoMost Upvoted

200 deer tails is nothing, I know a guy in Montana who ships them by the truckload to Asia. The market for that stuff is way bigger than most people realize, and it's not just for decoration. Taxidermy and animal parts are a billion dollar industry, and calling it "weird" ignores the fact that it's a legitimate part of managing wildlife populations and putting food on tables. Hunters don't waste anything, and that includes the tails, the hides, even the backstraps for fancy restaurants. If anything, people should be more aware of where their leather boots and their venison jerky actually come from instead of acting shocked when they see the raw materials.

leehall21d ago

Hey @anna491, you ever see how much a restaurant will pay for whole deer backstraps? It's wild what people will shell out for the "good stuff.

bennett.harper19d ago

The "managing wildlife populations" angle is the part that always cracks me up. @anna491 I get what you're saying, but last year I watched a guy pay $400 for a mounted raccoon wearing a tiny top hat. He said it was for his "man cave" and that raccoons are overpopulated anyway. If that's wildlife management, sign me up for the weird stuff. My uncle used to sell deer antlers to a guy in Japan who turned them into traditional knife handles, and I still don't know if that's better or worse than the taxidermy raccoon with a monocle.