Taxidermy.

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Would you/do you have a taxidermied animal? Would you have your beloved pet taxidermied? Is it ok to have one that you've never met but not ok to do it to your own? Would you feel better if you had your beloved friend with you forever once their life was over? Would it be better to let them go with only your memories! Do you feel repulsed by this process or would you feel relieved to keep them?

I am right now watching a doco on taxidermy?...It's very interesting on the varying opinions surrounding this topic. If it's their pet or an unknown animal, buying it, repulsed by it, those who could not cope without their beloved everyday. Thoses that have 2 opinions, those that take a hard line, the thought process of actually commiting to having this done. To freeze dry the entire animal or skin it to have it put onto a form or to just put it to rest (either burial or cremation) & you deal with it being gone.

I must say I would never allow this for mine & I do not like it in general. I couldn't bear looking at mine daily after death knowing i had them skinned or freeze dried.
However, there are good uses of taxidermy!  ie: museum's, recording extinct species etc. On this theory, why is this ok if not for your animal?

What are your thoughts on this?

Me too.

me three. i hate them being killed for it, which a lot are...but at the same time there are some animals that are now gone we would never see if it weren't for it. that one animal was worth the sacrifice.

Caryll wrote:I'm undecided on its usage in history/museums etc, but totally against hunting trophies & hunting in general. As for pets being stuffed (sorry, taxidermied) not on your life!

Pretty much this exactly! No way in hell would I have the boys stuffed

A lot of the stuffed animals being submitted to museums at the present time have died of natural causes, thankfully. What's done is done, so it's a shame animals were killed for it in the past, but there's nothing we can do about it now.

But as Hayley said, a lot of stuffed animal exhibits are extremely educational for people wanting to learn about extinct species.

Yes, as long as the animals weren't hunted as 'trophies' then museum exhibitions are educational.

But not pets - I mean, the animal we knew & loved just isn't there any more.

I couldn't have pets stuffed, I just no! I wouldn't be able to look at or touch them...

I couldn't do it.

Nor could I. But....

The point was to understand why others feel comfort in retaining their beloved. I loved my gran, oma, dad, friends etc. But, while I wouldn't want them preserved in my house either I do understand why people do this, without agreeing to embrace it.
I really couldn't see my dogs everyday after their death. For me it would be 10x harder than loosing them but I can understand that for some it eases the pain.

I see your point Tracy, but I honestly can't understand why anyone would get any sort of comfort in having their loved ones stuffed and on display.

To me, it's a constant reminder of their loss, and sadly they just can't move on.

Theres a tribe up some moutain somewheres and they put their dead in a chair and tie them to it and put them in a cave, so they can go visit them

they bring them out for special occasions like birthdays and marriages etc. true story

O.M.G.

Unbelievable!

http://www.cracked.com/article_20574_6-creepy-places-where-dead-bodies-just-lay-out-in-open.html


please dont click if you dont want to see it, its very graphic lol

Ref your information, Hayley.

Well ......... I suppose if that's how you've been brought up then there's some comfort in it. Reminds me actually of elephants' graveyards, apparently elephants practise something very similar.

I've seen this regarding many different peoples. It is not only tribes, we only need look to Mexico today & their "day of the dead" held at the start of this very month. It's very interesting how varying peoples beliefs can be. Though I do not personally agree with many practices,  I do respect others beliefs & their right not to agree with me.

Yeah its just how you're brought up aint it. I would not be able to look at a loved ones body. I like graves, i like that they are there - im not a fan of cremation cause then they are just gone unless you keep the ashes which feels a bit gross too.

tracyp wrote:. It is not only tribes, we only need look to Mexico today & their "day of the dead" held at the start of this very month. .

November, in many cultures, is a time to remember & pray for the souls of the dead. Even Christianity practices that. But at least we don't leave the bodies out in the open!

Hayley wrote:Yeah its just how you're brought up aint it. I would not be able to look at a loved ones body. I like graves, i like that they are there - im not a fan of cremation cause then they are just gone unless you keep the ashes which feels a bit gross too.

To me, they are not there (in a grave). I believe a body (of any species) is no more than a vessel for a soul to be carried in. It is not your face or body, your height nor size that make you, you! Its a soul.


My point is... we all feel differently due to culture, experience, & belief.  Not one is right, not one is wrong.

I like the tangible thing too though. I don't know what i believe with regards to souls etc but i do always find little things (like white feathers are always showing up when my family get together, so we say it is our grandmother)

My dads ashes are out at sea. (As was his wish) A small part of him is also in my sisters yard & mine under the bird of paradise we dug up with a crow bar & stole together.

Tangible is holding them close. I agree! I have a rock from the beach where my sister & I let dad go.

My own belief is that at the moment of death the soul leaves the body & the body becomes an empty shell. To me, all a grave is, is a focal point for our own longing for that person to still be with us. A way to feel closer to that departed soul.

But there's nothing of the person we knew left inside that grave, or indeed inside the body.