London's Coolest Class is ... Vegan Taxidermy?

Little bits of soft, innocent flesh decorate the paper towel in front of me. There’s blood everywhere. How does a vegan of 15 years end up in a taxidermy class wearing plastic gloves, willingly de-fleshing an animal carcass? What did this poor mouse ever do to me to deserve having his soft fur pulled away and body picked apart with cold metal tools and tweezers? More surprisingly, how does a vegan teach such a class—multiple times per week—embracing and encouraging the masses to manipulate dead animal carcasses? How can she live with herself? 

Meet Suzette Field, London’s resident vegan taxidermist. At the forefront of the growing “ethical taxidermy” movement, Ms. Field uses only “ethically sourced” animals (more on that later) and is dramatically changing how people think about and approach taxidermy.

As a child, Ms. Field collected objects from the natural world: rocks, crystals, shells, bones, and animal specimens. Twelve years ago, she began to specialize in taxidermy and for several years, ran a quirky shop and museum in East London that Anthony Bourdain featured on his Layover in London show. She now works full time leading taxidermy workshops and produces morbidly themed events.

Read more at The Daily Beast.