Teenage girl taxidermist has a freezer full of roadkill

A BUDDING taxidermist has submitted a stuffed owl and a fox’s head as part of her GCSE art coursework.

Sydney Langton, 16, spends her free time tracking down dead animals, including roadkill, and using the intricate preservation technique to make them look as lifelike as possible.

The pupil from St David’s College in Llandudno, North Wales, has collected dozens of creatures including badgers, weasels and various birds, which she stores in a freezer in the family shed.

She was delighted when her teachers agreed she could submit taxidermy projects for her GCSE in art.

Her final piece, titled Cabinet of Curiosities, contained a stuffed owl perched on a branch and a fox’s head with its ears pricked and eyes wide, as if it were hunting in a forest.

“Growing up, while my friends were interested in sport or reading, I was fascinated by dead animals,” Sydney told BBC News. “If I came across a dead hedgehog or bird, I would poke at it with a stick, or bring it home to examine, marvelling at its anatomy.”

Sydney, who is one of the youngest members of the Guild of Taxidermists, acquired her first stuffed animal at age eight when her parents helped her buy a fox’s head on ebay. On her 13th birthday, she attended a course that showed participants how to stuff a jay bird.

She added: “Of course, I know some people find taxidermy squeamish or controversial. Personally, I think the process is beautiful; I see the creature that was once there.”