Is it disrespectful to the animal?

[steve white]

Only one issue for me--WHO is allowed to decorate my mounts....if it leads to my 4 yr old GD pulling an ear off, then I say don't set an example of messing with somewhat delicate mounts...
Also easy to break delicate nose bones on euro mounts.

 

[PARA45]

This is where I have a distinct advantage over many…

Most of the taxidermy in my house… is my wife’s… to include the 9 mounts in the master bedroom lol…

I’m usually the one saying “a good picture is enough.. we’ve already got 3 blue wildebeest euros in the house”…

Which gets responded to with a “one more isn’t going to kill you… we’ll find a place for it”… lol…

What’s funny is we actually have only a few mounts in common areas of the house.. 1 euro in the game room.. 1 pedestal in the entryway..2 euros in the den… and that’s it..

But the master bedroom is packed.. there are mounts in the guest bedroom, my office has several.. and now our youngest is hanging mounts on the walls in her bedroom lol..

Yes you do! You sir, are one seriously lucky SOB, well done!

 

[Frederik]

I dont mind it, its just for a while on the year.

If you struggle with it make a deal for every day they are decoratde you get one day extra in Africa???

 

[Firebird]

You had to see it-while I am up there with the ladder I dust him and also change the battery in the smoke detector. Where do I get one of those shrunken heads to put on top of my tree?!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Maybe I'm overly conscious about death and respect ... because I'm seventy-one and headed to the final roundup myself. No hats or cigars on our taxidermy and we do NOT do any gag stuff (mounted bear holding a beer, etc). I actually only have one fur and glass eyes mount, a mule deer wall pedestal my daughter did up for the showroom. Everything else is euro or skull cap. I prefer the euro skull naked on the wall without plaques, etc. Looks natural, like a deadhead one would find find in the bush. Conveys an impression of resting in peace naturally. I also prefer the as-it-lays photography over the posed stuff, although posed often gives a better image of the coloration and horns/antlers.

My lodge owner's wife once asked why I'm not smiling in any of the posed trophy photos. My answer: one of God's beautiful creatures just died. Not sure that is a reason to be happy. I'm hoping no one will be happy when I pass.

 

[spike.t]

I agree with @Firebird on the sitting or standing on dead animals for pictures. I find that disrespectful, however, to each their own. I am probably one of the few women on this forum and one who also has taxidermy of my own. I put a Santa hat on George’s horn one year. George is the full size rhino mount in the living room. Bob said no and I said if George’s big butt is going to be in my dining room and his horn next to my tree, it is going to at least look a bit festive. The following year my tree was in a different location so I did not put a Santa hat on George. I also do not decorate all the taxidermy, or any for that matter . George was the one time. I don’t think it’s disrespectful though. Most women would get bent out of shape or throw a huge tantrum if you told them not to do something to your taxidermy. I have taxidermy so I would not get mad about Bob saying something. He has a pair of sunglasses on a small critter though. Cannot remember which….there is SO MUCH taxidermy.

Mmm....so Gina " my tree and my dining room "....does Bob have his own dining room and tree?.....just asking in passing....

 

[spike.t]

LOL! I suppose I need to find a rhino sleigh to hook him up to next

Jeez Bob stop surrendering so easily.....

 

[cls]

As has been said before, to each their own. Personally, I think it's disrespectful.

 

[WAB]

Obviously I have no problem with what I consider tasteful inclusion in the season’s decor.

 

[ActionBob]

Mmm....so Gina " my tree and my dining room "....does Bob have his own dining room and tree?.....just asking in passing....

No we keep life happy and simple. Everything is devided in two. There are her things and our things

@Bob Nelson 35Whelen explained to me how this works best

 

[Nyati]

I would never do it, but if it makes your wife happy, why not ?

 

[PARA45]

I would never do it, but if it makes your wife happy, why not ?

Right! If any of us did it, this post would have gone something like. Well, since you decorate your dead animals with (insert holiday here), please surrender your man-card on the way out, and don't ever come back to this forum ever.

 

[migrabill]

I never expected this many responses when I originally posted this topic!

 

[Tom Leoni]

So every year for Christmas my wife decorates up the house. Part of her annual ritual is "decorating" my mounted heads. They typically get Santa hats, scarfs, ornaments from the antlers etc. I have always felt inside that it was disrespectful to the animal but I have never said anything to her.
Am I warranted in feeling this way or am I overthinking it?

I think none of the items you mention is disrespectful to the animal. If anything, they make it part of your family atmosphere at a cherished time of year. I say do it and keep the missus happy.

What I do find a bit gauche is:

• Posing for a trophy picture (right after the kill) with a foot on or sitting on the animal. This is happily no longer the norm as it was 120 years ago.
• Videos with audio where the hunter expresses sentiments such as "look at the mother f***er fall" -- and I've seen my share, unfortunately.
• Taxidermying an animal in an undignified or deliberately funny pose (e.g., a baboon with his index fingers positioned to serve as a toilet-paper holder). Ghoulish at best.
• Posting trophy pictures with the hunter's face blurred out. If I can't proudly represent my sport, I don't see why I should engage in it. I know I'll catch some flak for this one, but since this is an opinion forum, here goes anyway.

Again, just my opinions. But I know a lot of hunters share them.

 

[rookhawk]

So every year for Christmas my wife decorates up the house. Part of her annual ritual is "decorating" my mounted heads. They typically get Santa hats, scarfs, ornaments from the antlers etc. I have always felt inside that it was disrespectful to the animal but I have never said anything to her.
Am I warranted in feeling this way or am I overthinking it?

Probably. Hunter's ethics don't apply to non-hunting spouses. If you're married and want to stay married, your bucks will all have rudolph red noses for a month a year.

Apropos of that, your masculine hunting dog will also be forced to wear a plaid bow for the month of December. Consider yourself lucky if the dog doesn't have antlers on the same month.

 

[Inline6]

[*]Posting trophy pictures with the hunter's face blurred out. If I can't proudly represent my sport, I don't see why I should engage in it. I know I'll catch some flak for this one, but since this is an opinion forum, here goes anyway.
[/LIST]
Again, just my opinions. But I know a lot of hunters share them.

Some people are in a profession that will not allow a picture to be posted (think of the alphabet). Others like myself won't post pictures of my children with their animals, they are young and in 10-20 years from now God only knows how crazy this world will be. It is not a matter of being proud, it's a matter of politics (keeping a job).

 

[Rocked and Loaded]

It’s possible to get overly philosophical on the subject of dead game.

I smile in my photos because I enjoy hunting and enjoy success when I have it.

I’m think there’s certainly a place for respect in regards to game but given the choice, I’m sure the trophy would prefer to have not been shot in the first place. They didn’t care about your respect in life, I doubt they give it anymore consideration in death.

FWIW, I don’t decorate my trophies.

 

[Hunt anything]

I think none of the items you mention is disrespectful to the animal. If anything, they make it part of your family atmosphere at a cherished time of year. I say do it and keep the missus happy.

What I do find a bit gauche is:

• Posing for a trophy picture (right after the kill) with a foot on or sitting on the animal. This is happily no longer the norm as it was 120 years ago.
• Videos with audio where the hunter expresses sentiments such as "look at the mother f***er fall" -- and I've seen my share, unfortunately.
• Taxidermying an animal in an undignified or deliberately funny pose (e.g., a baboon with his index fingers positioned to serve as a toilet-paper holder). Ghoulish at best.
• Posting trophy pictures with the hunter's face blurred out. If I can't proudly represent my sport, I don't see why I should engage in it. I know I'll catch some flak for this one, but since this is an opinion forum, here goes anyway.

Again, just my opinions. But I know a lot of hunters share them.

I don’t like the sitting or standing on trophies either, on my first buffalo I almost posed everyone arranged like Robert Ruark in “Horn of the Hunter” but thought better of it and didn’t do it.
As far as the blurring of faces goes I asked one of my PH’s about that. He said some of their clients have sensitive jobs or have bosses that are anti hunting and would probably be fired if the pictures ever got back to them.

 

[Firebird]

I am reminded of the Idaho fish and game officer that lost his job for shooting a bunch of baboons and posing them for a “family”picture.

I have always liked the tradition of placing a bit of foliage in the mouth of the game and the hat of the hunter. It requires the hunter to think about and show respect for his game on some level

 

[R.M.C.]

My old lady knows better than to decorate my taxidermy, I have never liked the idea of it. But I don't get bent out of shape over others doing so. To each his own.