This is adorable, and I love the pose <3

Thank you ^^# i love it too.

Awww so cute, i'd never think of doing that

Good girl!

hehe ^-^

Just read the bottom message too, and yeah i know that feeling, i hate the thought that people kill red panda's for their fur

Yes!

Awww, she's beautiful! ^w^

Do you support the Dog Fur / meat industry of China? The dogs usually die pretty horrifically slow and painful, sometimes skinned alive and left to die.

That fur harvesting is the worst I've yet researched.

Lovely image, again. Beautiful design and I know Koro will absolutely love this. Your art work is some of the absolute best artwork of feral animals I've had the pleasure of coming across.

>.> As someone who collects taxidermy items, all I gotta say is don't support those assholes who torture animals. Buy local, and know your sources.

But this is absolutely adorable. She's too cute to use! Well, not in that sense

do you go out and harvest your own dogs? Shot them? I know a taxidermy fur out of California that goes off and shots the rural dogs for the skulls and other things.

Haha, no. I take no part in the killing. Though, I'd love to go deer hunting. Deer is very tasty.

And really? I figured such a thing would be illegal in California. Like everything involving animals. :I

Always a difficult topic as an taxidermist, right? Sitting right between the fronts i guess.

by dogs I mean wild dogs, coyotes, etc. Or demestic dogs I guess as well? From your statement I'm assuming you dont shot peoples dogs for the furs / pelts / bones. Was just curious, I know a few Taxidermy furs who use...questionable methods. Especially for suites where they can cheaply harvest coyote pelts themselves.

AH XD that clears it up a bit. As I said, I don't go hunting (yet; I'm going to get my gun license in the next year or so so I can go hunting). If anything, I'd probably use a trap, like those cage traps.

would you enjoy killing canines?

Eh, maybe. I wouldn't shoot someone's dog, but if I can outwit a wild animal by thinking like them, I'd say that's an achievement and will help bring me closer to the animal.

Considering coyotes are in no way endangered and have in fact become somewhat of a plague species throughout much of the United States, I personally have no qualms about hunting them. They're overpopulated, have no natural predators, carry several highly contagious cross-species diseases, and are a destructive predator on other small game as well some threatened or endangered animal populations. At this point they're so overpopulated that many wind up starving when the cold hits, so it becomes a case of shoot them now or watch them die slow and painfully come winter... :(

Jo, der Botschaft stimme ich vollkommen zu.
Auch ich würde niemals zu Echtfell greifen.


Aber das Bild ist auch wieder sehr schön geworden. :D

You mean I can't set my live cat on my chest and use her for warmth? But she's so warm and fluffy. Plus she seems pretty happy to half suffocate me laying on my chest.

perfect use of real fur.. cuddle it and love it while it is still alive... just hope it doesnt kick you out of your own bed.. *shoves her spanial mix over to try to get SOME of the blankets back*

Nah. She kicks my parents out of bed but I'm more apt to kick her out of mine. She does how ever like to sleep on my clean clothes when they're nice and folded waiting on my bed. Silly thing. Another good use of fur I suppose, having it all over your clothes.

i'm on bored with you we dont need fur thay do and besides i rater see the fur on the fox instead of on some super mold

While I do like soft mounted animals, not all of them are killed specifically for the purpose of soft mounting. The coyote girl I own was shot for population control according to her legal citation paperwork. I always make sure I have proper paperwork and know where my animal comes from, instead of just buying or trading online blindly. I owe it that much to the animal, as I have a great respect for it's spirit and any leftover energy that may be connected with the preserved pelt. I brush their fur out very carefully and make sure they are clean, as I believe there should be respect for the creature whether it is living or dead.

BUT it's totally okay for people not to like taxidermy, as some people view it as morbid, and that's okay by me :) Everyone has a right to their own opinions and beliefs! :)

What I don't like (my opinon, of course, you don't have to agree!) is people wearing fur as a fashion statement, making the death of the animal completely pointless and a complete waste of life. at least people far north use it to keep warm and stay alive, and use every part of the animal. I wish people would give fur the respect it deserves, because that fur was attached to a real creature with a soul, (or life force if you don't believe in souls) and it's very disrespectful to make it into a coat or "cute purse" for your own selfish vain reasons.

The only way I'm ok with the use of real fur is how Native Americans do it or other tribe like people. Yes they kill the animal but they use every part of it. Fur, meat, bone everything has a use and very little to nothing is wasted. I disapprove of the killing of any animal just for it's fur. I feel very close to fox's myself but if I had to kill one (or any animal) I'm not going to dishonor it by letting it rot and take only the fur. I'll honor it's life by using everything it has given me. *sigh* But I digress. Great pic and I agree with your view on taxidermy.

There is a fine line between having to kill for the needs of survival and doing it for sport. To me, if one has the ability to walk into a store and buy the basics to support life...then killing should not be an option. Nature has this system of hunting the weak that helps support the species by creating less competition to the strong. Although easily seen as cruel, it's a wonder to behold how it's actually beneficial. Sport hunting, however, favors the death to the strong and anything else it can find. Just makes me think that it's legalized killing. A one sided thrill that should be seen as a sin. Besides, what would public opinion reflect if a corrupt system suddenly sold licenses to legally kill a select number of stranger Humans?

Do I even need to say that when I go walking in the woods to shoot at things...it's with a camera lens?

Beautiful ... Reals furs are just murder, fakes furs are beautiful !

Faux fur truly is an incredible thing, all right.

I agree with you Ruki. I really dislike hunting or harvesting animals solely for fur or trophies -.- especially wolves, coyotes, and foxes!

agreed but they dont hunt them. they brake their legs and skin them alive to get the fur. which is worst then killing

Eat the fur~

never fox....ony bunny >,..,< lol jk

Especially the stupid ones that literally dash a football field's length to try and meet up with my vehicle's front tires!

I've seen bunnies do too many weird things to completely understand them. Sure. Running blindly in shear fear is one thing. But, to dash towards the head lights to the gate and challenge me like a guard dog was...odd behavior, indeed.

+1 NEVER USE REAL FUR!

Personally, I think it is were you are that is the desire for real fur. If you are a homesteader in Alaska, you tend to waste nothing in general. Also a fur coat (possibly home made) might be helpful in the winter with -30 degrees below zero.

Most cases, yes it is creepy but homesteading is a rare expectation. Fur brushes really do use fur harvested from shedding coats until the animal dies naturally. They are similar to horse hair brushes where they trim the tails and maims and collect the cuttings.

i agree :) killing animals for fur is wrong

What if the animal died of natural causes? Can we use the fur then?

If that was the only legal way, imagine the super high prices that would be paid for such a valuable and rare commodity.

Which would increase poaching...

To the point of threatening extinction.

So be the evil of greed.

what about shaving a fox, would that be acceptable? xD

*hugs my own tails* Most indubitably *whimper* ;w;

Agreed; thank you!

at first i didn't understand what you meant by soft mount, and was going to dissagree, until i actually found out what it's a part of. I completely agree that we should never kill animals (including humans, which gangs seem to like to do) for trophies or displayment.. I have 3 justifications for killing another animal: 1. in pure self defence, if you're being attacked and there's no way to escape and you had to defend yourself, and the attacker died in the process by accident, then it's justified; 2, in use of food, because that's just how nature works. I exclude humans for obvious reasons lol; and 3, for clothing. That's also something we've evolved to do, so as long as we respect the animal and what comes from it, it's fine. this also excludes humans

Can I share this picture on my facebook page? It would be great for it!

Not a fan of wearing fur myself, but I must say that fur farms mostly aren't that horrible than everyone thinks. At least those who legally wear fur, in places where animal rights are a thing. (so, not china and most asian places)
They don't just kill the animals for the fur, and they don't treat them horribly. If an animal is stressed out and held poorly, they will lose their fur out of stress or get shaggy/ugly -> the fur is no longer pretty and they cannot sell it anymore. So, Fur Farms need to keep their animals in a good shape, feed them properly so they will have shiny and pretty fur. Also, its a common mistake that the meat of the animals gets thrown away - they mostly go to zoos to feed the predators or even to dog-/cat food industry. So basically, in good fur farms, the animals are held well and killed in a humane way (They come in a box, then a sort of gas is led into the box, I don't remember which exactly, the animals pass out withing a minute or two, and they don't feel any pain. Skinning alive is rare since blood can destroy the fur if you hurt the struggling animal by accident, and bam blood on fur = fur is unwearable), and nothing gets thrown away. Really talking about good fur farms here. Animal cruelty for fur does happen, but only in places where it's not illegal to do that.

I personally still dislike real fur. It's kind of weird to me to wear the skin of another living being, and I also think pelt coats and stuff look ugly on humans. I rather have the animals alive and watching them jump around. Its all right to be against fur, but I think it's also important to know the other side and get rid of prejudices. First I really hated fur farms as well, but after doing a little research (which includes researching the fur farms as well and not just listening to animal rights activists.) It's always good to collect your own information instead of blindly believe what others say, cause their information will always be subjectively influenced.

btw. fake fur harms animals as well. it's hard to produce and the industry of producing every neccessary for producing fake fur harms animals as well. (mineral oil for example) Just because no animals are directly killed doesn't mean its good for the environment. And a harmed environment is not good for the wildlife there as well, so fake fur indirectly harms animals as well.

As for taxidermy and soft mounts, I think they are really pretty. A dead animal is already dead, so theres nothing wrong about keeping their beauty. Otherwise the beautiful pelt would simply rot. Most taxidermists don't kill the animals to work on them, but buy their animals from good sources (population decimation). Killing animals just to make mounts out of them is pretty ill-reputed beneath taxidermists as well. Sadly, there are always a few crazy people out of hundreds of respectful taxidermists. Its okay to dislike taxidermy for several reason, but to call taxidermists killers or inhuman is unfair. They don't kill animals, they simply keep the animals beauty forever and it IS considered art in my opinion, since it's hard to recreate an animal in a realistic way. It's just a matter of taste, and just because one does not like it, doesnt mean its wrong. :) I personally wouldn't want a soft mount as well for the same reason as I dislike wearing fur, but I still respect them.

Anyways, your art is gorgeous as always and I still agree your opinion, Ruki. Fake fur is still not neccessary in my opinion, but as the animals don't suffer too much and all parts are used, I guess it's at least acceptable. Just the same with animal testing. Cruel and sad, but neccessary if we want to keep our comfortable lives with good health care and medicine.

population decimation is a hunter lie. Hunter is the reason why we have high Population of boar as example. Hunter have hunted alot of much boar and the population is currently threefold as normal. population control doesnt work, it doesnt. In germany mostly feeding hunter at the Winters day the animals and feeding is resulation the population goes up. Hunters needs high population for shooting and create it with full intention. hunting is not cheap and the hunter need to kill for selling fur, selling flesh to create money.

I telling a story what happen few month in germany at the city cologne. People have a problem with rabbits, they have a lot of much rabbits and hunters need to kill. The hunter have killed alot of rabbits and two crow's and one foxes. Tell me why? Foxes and Crow can hunt rabbits to, i dont understand the logic of it.

And you disagree yourself. You talked you dislike real fur, but telling us Soft-Mounts/Taxidermy is pretty.. What the Fu.? This is real fur too and with buying of us you create demand and supply. Creater of it see, it selling good and buying more from huter to create more, the hunter the, the dead body selling and kill more foxes for selling. Why the people needs soft Mounts, whats the reason? It its not enough to buying a plush toy like WWF Plush Fox?

I have owned over 100 Plush Animals, alot of sweet foxes and it feels very good. I dont need anything with real fur. The only one what i wanted to owned is a Fox alive in my arms. A tamed fox All another one is not acceptable for me.

I don't know enough about the hunting business to defend them or be against them. I dislike hunters who kill for fun/Fur/trophies, but I guess if they hunt old/dead/ill animals to keep the population healthy its fine. I cannot tell when a kill is reasonable and when not, since I'm not a hunter by myself and I don't know shit about their business. Fact is, if hunter should shoot rabbits and shoot foxes and crows instead, then it's an asshole hunter. But 20 assholes out of 100 assholes doesnt mean all hunter do that. Just because one furry forces their pets to have sex with them, doesn't mean we all force out pets to do so, right?

I said I dislike wearing fur, but I can still think its pretty, can't I? It's also pretty on a living fox, so why should the same pelt suddenly be gross if the fox died? I won't wear fur and I won't buy a soft mount since I also think it's creepy to wear the dead skin of a living being or have one as a "stuffed animal", BUT just because I dislike it, doesnt mean I have to hate it or hate people who wear fur. Fact is, the fox is already dead, so you rather let it rot or use the fur to make a mount out of it. And by this I mean mounts for decoration, not the plush toy soft mounts, even tho I don't mind them since they're pretty much the same, just filled with soft filling. If you treat your soft mount with respect and dont cuddle and abuse it like a plush toy, i'm okay with it, even if i don't want one for myself. It's called respect. As I said, just because I personally don't like something, it doesn't mean it's horrible.

Well, I already stated in my post that fake fur actually harms animals as well, so Plush toys, sewn out of fake fur, indirectly harm real animals, too. You need a lot of chemical ingredients to create and colour fake fur (including toxic mineral oil), and by creating it, the surely a little toxic waste products get released into the environment. And where do foxes/animals live? Yepp, in the nature, and they might drink contaminated water or breathe in the dust or whatever the industry releases into the wild. As I said, just because no real animal dies, it doesn't mean Plush Toys are so much better for animals or the environment in general. Did you know that a LOT of plush toys shouldn't be given to little children because they suckle on it and might become ill from the toxic substances in the fur, if the plush toy was made in a cheap way? So imagine how toxic the shit is they use to produce the plush toys. (And lets be honest, we all rather buy cheaper, cute toys, instead of spending tons of money on one expensive plushie. I collect them, too, and I act the same way, so...)

BTW. A fox is a wild animal and shouldn't be kept like a pet, just because it's fluffy and cute. They might act like cute little puppies, but they aren't domesticated and in my opinion, keeping a wild animal like a pet and cuddling it like a puppy is quite, well, lets be honest, I think it's animal cruelty. Fox are supposed to run around in forests, get a lot of exercise by hunting and searching for food, digging holes and whatnot. And not to run around in a flat or be held in a kennel, no matter how big it is, and be cuddled.

All I want to say is, people should stop judging and yelling at something without actually doing enough research. Of course, on the first sight, it seems cruel, but if you know what else is behind it, it seems at least reasonable. I never said I want animals to die for fur, but IF they die, they can be used instead of letting them rot. If it's neccessary to kill them (food for zoos for example, or simply cows/sheep/whatever in the human food industry), why not keeping the pelt/leather? What about road kills? Should be let the marten rot? It's already dead, it was hit by a car and nothing will bring it back to life. So taking its fur to make a pretty mount out of it doesn't harm it anymore, and the beautiful animal has a chance show off its pretty fur forever. That might not be the taste of everyone, and I understand if people think taxidermy is creepy (it is sometimes), but hating people for it is not better as well. There exists also human taxidermy for study/medical reasons, it's called body worlds, and I will visit it this year because I'm interested in it. And in the end, humans are just animals as well :P

Agreed, don´t use real fur!!

I agree. There is no need to kill any animal for just their fur.

I love this picture, thank you very much for this birthday gift.

Kora telling you:"This is my life, my fur. Dont steal this, its not yours. Respect the life!"

Sehr sehr hübscher Charakter übrigens

Ich benutz' nur das ganze Tier.

Wow this is good but pretty serious

I very much agree with you ruki.

also very lovely picture

While I see your point, the issue is that people eat meat, as such there is a lot of fur, feathers, and leather that is created as a byproduct of people wanting meat, thus why not allow for the use of the whole animal instead of just part of it? That or condemn the consumption of meat products as well.

Yes, I am also an omnivore. But this is about killings of animals that are not eaten and therefore are not even a part of the food chain. And it's also not about people who need the fur and the bones to survive.

But what I am trying to ask is do you have a problem with people wearing cow hide leather boots made from beef cows?

No, because that's something else.
The cows do not die purely because of the leather, but are also used as meat to eat. Animals kill to eat.
But animals do not kill to wear the skin of another.

Its true that animals kill to eat, but people often forget people are animals too and that there is nothing we can do which is not natural. Don't get me wrong I believe that poaching for simply the sake of collecting skins is a massive waste, I simply don't see it as being worse than eating meat when we as a omnivore do not actually require the consumption of meat to survive. That being said I at least am glad to see that you are okay with people using all the parts of an animal that would be dying anyway. But it brings another question to mind, what about people using the skin of animals who die naturally?

As you can read below, I will not be on vegitarische Discusionen one :)
Kill animals, if you need their fur, but I'm not doing it. :)

I don't need their fur either and as such I don't use it either, I'm just trying to look at things from an unbiased objective stand point. I don't like killing animals for any selfish reason (in which I DO include even for eating purposes!) But that is my personal standing and obviously is not something I can or should expect the world to conform to. Its always just bothered me that people seem to be okay with murder for one reason but not for another. I do, again, appreciate that you at least have a tolerance level for those with need or the idea of using the whole kill (or as much of it as you can) rather than letting it go to waste without due cause.

Don't let you drag in that conversation of : oh but you eat meat it's the same shit!

Nope it's not!
I tried to ge vegetarian but I could not stay to be vegetarian, cause I'm allergic to soy and tehrefore it is not so easy to replace meat at all!
I did not stay healthy at all. And so is for some people that are not allergic to soy to. it is just a rumor not everyone can get vegetarian
I'm just ONE proof and there are many more that NOT everyone can be vegetarian

The thing I do is that I buy not cheap meat - cheap meat is the worst you can do. Because if meat if life costs less than an Euro I don't want to know how they lived.
And I do at least one ot two vegetarian days a week.

But fur is not needed by anyone! And so does RL leather.
I totally don't wear any RL leather even not on my shoes.



German translation:
Lass dich bloß nicht in diese - aber du bist ja auch für das sterben von Tieren verantworlich, du isst ja welche.

Völliger Dünnschiss.
Nicht jeder kann vegetarier sein - bei allem will jeder individuell sein aber essen sollen wir alle das gleiche?
Ich wollte Vegetarier sein - habs ausprobiert und wäre es auch geblieben wenn ich dadurch nicht krank geworden wäre. ich bin auf Soja allergisch und dass macht es sehr schwierig Fleisch zu ersetzen. Gerade Frauen müssen da echt aufpassen.
Und es gibt sicherlich noch mehr solcher Beispiele.
Nicht jeder KANN Vegetarier sein.

Das was ich dafür mache ist kein billiges Fleisch zu kaufen und möglichst Lokal. Billiges Fleisch kaufen ist immer noch das schlimmste was man Tieren antun kann. ich will mir nicht vorstellen, wie ein Tier gelebt hat dessen Leben weniger als einen Euro wert ist. Zusätzlich mache ich ein bis zwei Tage komplett veggie jedeWoche

Niemand braucht Fell - es ist nur luxus. Das gleich gilt für Leder.
Alles an Leder das ich habe ist nicht echt. Und ein Leder Sofa - Marke tote Kuh kommt mir auch nicht ins Haus

Danke, ich sehe es ähnlich wie du.
ich will auch keine Diskussionen aufbrechen, sondern lediglich meine Meinung sagen. Ich zwinge es niemanden auf. Und poste auch nicht bei Taxidermi Auktionen wie doof ich das finde.
... Bin übrigens nach meiner Vegi-Woche auch Krank geworden.
Das Vegetarier Ding ist übrigens ein super Beispiel für Extremes für und wieder ;)

Soy is not something that the entire world has had access to for very long at all, yet people have been vegetarian before soy became an option. In fact in the past eating meat was a rarity, a treat, something few could afford to do on a regular basis. Just because there aren't as many "convenience" foods out there for vegetarians without soy in it doesn't mean you can't be vegetarian. This is purely a matter of how strong your conviction is to find a way to survive without consuming meat.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not condemning you for eating meat, I do to (although I am weaning myself off slowly so that eventually I can be not just vegetarian but vegan! Still meat is an addiction and it is hard to quit, so I understand the difficulty).

Check you sources: > In fact in the past eating meat was a rarity,

this is not right at all.
Of course the rich could afford even more but the poor did eat meat too - through the whole winter it could be stored when salted or smoked. People that had no fish or meat during the winter would get sick - and that is a fact - back then they had no way to replace it.
Long before human kind knew that they can seed stuff and baked bread there was only meat and fruits and fruits weren't very common in winter.
Our brain could only evolve to get that big because we were hunters - in africa.

http://www.nature.com/scitable/know.....mans-103874273
says:
" it's only in the Homo lineage, especially in Homo erectus, that we see biological features often linked to meat-eating, such as a decrease in tooth and gut size and an increase in body and brain size "

I'm not even talking necessarily long term history, even just back in the 1930-1960s. A lot of older people who I have talked to that lived during those times have told me that they would rarely get to eat meat, once a week at best in most cases (usually on Sundays) - Or if they were entertaining guests. But you want references, so I will give you some references:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histor....._vegetarianism

http://www.eatveg.com/veghistory.htm

"It may surprise many people to hear that our early ancestors lived on a semivegetarian diet for several million years. Some anthropologists have fostered the stereotype of "man the hunter," but studies of contemporary "hunter-gatherers" suggest that early humans lived primarily on a diet of plant foods, with supplementation from animal flesh. Studies of tribal Australian aborigines and the Kung-San of South Africa-groups that live under conditions similar to those of our ancestors-show that only about one fourth of their caloric intake derives from animal products. Nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables are the staple foods of these groups. A view of early humans as gatherers rather than hunters is a more accurate portrayal."


http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/history.html

http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=4679&catId=8

"According to the media organization, the US has the second-highest average meat consumption per capita in the world, weighing in at a whopping 270.7 pounds per person per year—168.2 pounds more than the world average."

That means the world average is only 102.5 pounds per year even still, which is only 0.28 pounds a day if people are eating it EVERY day.

http://chartsbin.com/view/12730

---

The point is vegetarianism isn't new, meat consumption the world over is and has generally always been a part of the human diet, but only a small part, and wealth is in direct correlation to the consumption of flesh.

I partially agree with this; I'm alright with taxidermy under specific circumstances, and I view hunting for fur and bone acceptable only when the population of the animal in question is on an incline, and therefore has plenty to spare. I think if hunting for sport or luxury is legal, it should be strictly regulated to avoid overkill, or any general damage to nature in itself. However, I was given a lamb skin leather jacket for Christmas this past December, and I wear it regularly despite not agreeing with the circumstances by which it was obtained; I feel a little sad whenever I put it on, but it was a gift and it was purchased second hand, so it's not as though myself or the person who gave it to me had anything to do with the death of the animal. It's an unfortunate thing, but sometimes it's not under your control.

You'll never stop me from strapping live badgers to my body! It's my people's cultural tradition!

lovely drawing !

I personally only use naturally died animal, every animal I have myself for taxidermy or artistics ends died either from old age or an accident ( car or birds flying against a window) I don't like it either when animals are only killed fur their hide. if animals are killed with the intend of using everything ( meat, hide bones) and the animal was not farmed I don't feel like there is such a problem.

I totally support this message. To the people here who are trying to justify their use of fur with population control: There is a wealth of scientific research disproving the notion that a ban on hunting results in a higher population density of previously huntable species. "Population control" is, in fact, a myth hunters and trappers came up with to justify and rationalize their bloody deeds.

Thank you

Schönes Geschenk, hat er sich bestimmt sehr gefreut! :3

im a big taxidermy fan; i have several pelts and wet preserved animals, however, i agree that killing for skin is wrong
All mine are natural deaths or roadkill. For example, i have a rat and spider preserved that used to be my pets. The spider, im not sure how he died, the rat was about 3 years old and was put down because she had a tumor
and i have a kitten that passed at 3days old from natural causes
and four opossums(two pelts, two wet preserved) and all of them are roadkill

I don't mind it as long as the farming is humane.

I love your art and this message , I am against real fur .!!!