If nothing else, the British are celebrated as a nation of animal lovers.
We cherish our pets and it can be heartbreaking when they pass on. Yet with taxidermy
prices spiralling out of control, preserving our dear ones is beyond the means of all
but the wealthiest.
All that could be about to change, thanks to the inventiveness of a young
Froghill businessman. For instead of filling dead animals with the customary wire
frames, foam and cotton padding, Jasper Mooncalf inflates them.
“I use a kind of gas, called VapoStiff,”
said Mr. Mooncalf from his studio on St
Alfege Street. “Once all the organs and skeleton have been removed, I inflate the
carcass. The gas infuses the pelt from the inside, firming it up and preventing
it from decaying.”
The
inflation process is a slow and painstaking business and has to be performed by
hand.
“I
use a bicycle pump and insert the gas little by little,” the 29-year-old
Cambridge graduate explained.
“The
insertion is performed from behind, in the same way as an enema. I have
different nozzle attachments for different animals, so I can always achieve an
airtight fit.”
A
graduate in Precambrian Philosophy, Mr. Mooncalf got the idea for his company, From Here To Peternity, after his twin brother died in a freak accident involving a pig’s
intestine and a cylinder of propane gas.
“Basically,
Toby hyperventilated himself, with the result that, in death,
he was the same size and shape as he was in life. He
was just a bit less animated, that’s all.”
In
the three months since he established From Here To Peternity, Mr. Mooncalf has inflated
everything from dogs to dogfish. He maintains that his results are every bit as
good as those achieved by conventional methods but come at a fraction of the
price.
“I
don’t use any of the paraphernalia essential to conventional taxidermy. That keeps
the overheads down and allows me to pass on the savings to the consumer.
“The
only tricky part is getting the gas volume exactly right. Too
little, and the subject will be floppy and wizened, with the posture all wrong.
“Too
much and it will come out over-inflated, like Donald Trump.”
No comments:
Post a Comment