Mum thought it was weird

SARAH Burhouse had set out to be an ecologist – but discovered a passion for taxidermy while studying for a zoology degree.

She now works at Nottingham Natural History Museum, helping to restore its collection as well as working on new pieces.

Recent works have included a king penguin donated last year.

Sarah, 32, also teaches other aspiring taxidermists.

She says: “When I started eight years ago, my mum thought I was going through a weird phase and was a bit grossed out by it.

“Now, she and other people in her community collect dead things for me. If anything flies into their window, they’ll keep it in their freezer.

“Most people who attend the

classes are in

their 20s and 30s. It’s like the old boys who did taxidermy back in the day wanted to keep everything to themselves and didn’t want to share their knowledge.

“But the younger generation of taxidermists are keen to improve the standards and share with each other what we’ve learned.

“That’s one reason we have a lot of followers on Instagram – although others might just follow us out of macabre curiosity.

“The other day, someone posted on a local community Facebook group that they had a dead sparrowhawk and asked if there were any taxidermists who would like it. I said I’d have it.

“I did get some sad and angry reactions from people who don’t really understand what taxidermy is – or don’t realise that it can be an ethical practice.”