Where To Stuff Your Dead Cat: Taxidermy Classes For Beginners
It can be difficult to know what to do with a loved one when they pop their clogs. You can have them frozen, in the hope that science may be able to revive them (a well-worn 1990s Hollywood trope, thinking Mel Gibson in Forever Young, or peak Stallone movie Demolition Man – Sly might have been best advised to go into cryogenesis himself at this point, it’s been downhill since). Alternatively you employ super-high pressure and turn them into precious stones, perfect for the diamond geezer in your life. Or you can go old-school, and have them stuffed, full-on Jeremy Bentham style. Okay, so that might not be ideal for your granny, but perhaps your cat, at least? After all, wouldn’t Mr Buttons like to live on as a door stop, a table centre-piece or maybe a stylish stole and hat combo?
If this sounds like exactly the sort of solution that’s right up your alley, then either seek help or read on for some of the best places to head for taxidermy lessons in London.
The British Academy of Taxidermy
The guys bringing back Victorian whimsy in a big way have got a dormouse playing cribbage for any situation. Having launched in New York in 2009, the Last Tuesday Society are the first port-of-call for any mouse stuffers. Offering an introduction into taxidermy their classes, held at Islington Arts Factory under the guise of the British Academy of Taxidermy, the classes are taught by expert taxidermist Tonja Grung, they specialise in our favourite – anthropomorphic taxidermy whimsy, that is tableau of animals in human-like poses and teaching all the skills required, from skinning and preparing to mounting and preserving your dead animal.
Where: Islington Arts Factory, 2 Parkhurst Road, Islington, N7 0SF
Website: www.thebritishacademyoftaxidermy.org
A Field Guide
A Field Guide practically wrote the book on taxidermy. In fact, they literally wrote the book on taxidermy, you can buy them. They also run practical classes on the subject, teaching the principles and practicals of preservation, preparation and stuffing. And it’s not just mice (shown above in a romantic, loving situation), you can stuff rats (£65, unless you want to make it two-headed or winged, in which case £70), weasels, stoats, magpies or cockerels. Sky’s the limit (unless you’re adding wings to a rat, in which case presumably it’s not). All classes include a tea, coffee and a, naturally, vegetarian lunch.
Website: www.afieldguide.org
Queen Mary University of London
Let’s bring a touch of academia to the table, thanks to Queen Mary’s University of London. The Barts Pathology Museum run beginner taxidermy classes, an informal space to learn about stuffing animals. The classes are run by Amanda Sutton, who has created taxidermy for the likes of Ted Baker and The Florence Nightingale Museum (I wonder if this is the fist time they’ve ever appeared together in a sentence?). The five hour classes include sandwiches, crisps and hot or cold drinks, plus all the equipment and dead animals.
Where: Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, Mile End, E1 4NS
Website: www.qmul.ac.uk
Taxidermy Club
With the frankly excellent tag line ‘the only time you don’t want to be teacher’s pet’, Taxidermy Club proves that taxidermy is not just an East London obsession, bringing animal stuffing to West London and beyond.
Website: www.taxidermyclub.co.uk
It’s worth pointing out that all these courses insist that their animals aren’t killed for the purposes of taxidermy, but rather are generally mice bred for reptile food, roadkill or similar. We also don’t recommend stuffing your granny, she might not be impressed.
