# making profit off dead reptiles



## eladidare (Nov 1, 2007)

hey everyone
i just saw in the for sale section that a taxidermy johnstons croc is for sale for $500!!! (im not having a go at the seller)
now as far as i know freshies only go for about 200-400 (could be wrong), which means that they are worth more dead than alive.
if reptiles are more valuble when theyre dead... well i guess you know what im saying.
and you dont need a licence for a dead reptile.
i would like to hear any opinions on this subject.

cheers
Ryan


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## caustichumor (Nov 1, 2007)

I don't mind the idea of croc farms, In as much as the most of the animal carcass is utilised. I wear leather shoes and eat farmed beef and plenty of other tasty animals, so it is part of modern civilization to farm and harvest (but hey I wouldn't stick a cow head on the wall) (or would I?)


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## pugsly (Nov 1, 2007)

Your not factoring in several things..

a) the cost of the taxidermy
b) the fact a dead croc costs you nothing to keep.
c) Is not dangerous.. except if you try Jackass stunts.
d) anyone else..?

Its a reasonable price, not that I am at all into keeping dead things.


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## slim6y (Nov 1, 2007)

Why don't we stuff our dead relatives and put them on mounts (note my careful choice of words here) yet we'd keep dead animals in similar fashion.

Well, each to their own...


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## eladidare (Nov 1, 2007)

im not just talking about crocs.
the fact that an animal can be killed and stuffed and sold makes me want to get stabby


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## Australis (Nov 1, 2007)

Taxidermy can be a fine art, ive had some great pieces over the years.

I have mammalian leather goods, i see no difference.


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## Miss B (Nov 1, 2007)

I wouldn't really compare a stuffed croc with a live croc, it doesn't make a lot of sense.

The kind of person that would buy a stuffed croc is most likely a bit different from the kind of person that would buy a live croc. And of course, as Pugsly mentioned, taxidermy does take a lot of time and effort, hence the cost.


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## caustichumor (Nov 1, 2007)

I just couldn't live without my Tasmanian Tiger throw rug....


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## Miss B (Nov 1, 2007)

eladidare said:


> the fact that an animal can be killed and stuffed and sold makes me want to get stabby


 
Hahaha - "Joe's Taxidermy - you snuff 'em, we stuff 'em"


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## Tojo (Nov 1, 2007)

The croc taxidermy was my grandfathers and it cost him $500 in the late 70s.Taxidermy is a real art form and to preserve an animal to be as life like as possible takes alot of time and knowledge.I am selling him on behalf of my gran so the original price is what was paid.If you scroll down the thread you will see it is for $300.A real bargin.If you price a croc taxidermy today a it will cost plenty more than $500.Having said that it is a real bargin for a dinosaur!


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## Peregrinus (Nov 1, 2007)

id be quite happy if most of my relatives got stuffed.


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## pugsly (Nov 1, 2007)

Geesuz its not like people are buying them, just to kill em and stuff em..

Whats the big deal?


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## eladidare (Nov 1, 2007)

Miss B said:


> I wouldn't really compare a stuffed croc with a live croc, it doesn't make a lot of sense.
> .


 
?????? :? (not having a go miss B, but it is straight forward)

dead croc=bad
alive croc=good

for a live croc to become stuffed it has to be killed first!
ok, now does anyone understand???

pugsly- the right person can make a fortune, same as everything else i guess.


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## Tojo (Nov 1, 2007)

That's right pugsly, it was a pet that died and was put in the fridge and then went to the taxidermist.My grandfather used to be involved with a croc farm up north and that,s the story.Sorry to disappoint you eladidare but it was not killed for a taxidermy it was already dead from natural causes!!!!!!!


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## Jen (Nov 1, 2007)

taxidermy is a dying art form, there is a woman in the hunter valley who 'stuffs' reptiles and other animals and who has had a write up in the Reptiles Australia mag. I for one think its a great idea to preserve pets which have passed on. lmao at Rowdy from scrubs


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## eladidare (Nov 1, 2007)

Tojo said:


> The croc taxidermy was my grandfathers and it cost him $500 in the late 70s.Taxidermy is a real art form and to preserve an animal to be as life like as possible takes alot of time and knowledge.I am selling him on behalf of my gran so the original price is what was paid.If you scroll down the thread you will see it is for $300.A real bargin.If you price a croc taxidermy today a it will cost plenty more than $500.Having said that it is a real bargin for a dinosaur!


 

my apologies to you tojo for this thread, i know the price is fair, but it makes me a bit mad that our native wildlife is worth more dead than alive.


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## PhilK (Nov 1, 2007)

eladidare said:


> im not just talking about crocs.
> the fact that an animal can be killed and stuffed and sold makes me want to get stabby


Mate if you think the croc was killed solely for the purpose of being stuffed you've got a few roos loose in the top paddock. As mentioned it was a pet, but normally they're not.. and even if they're not, they're probably farmed for the meat and the hide is used instead of just throwing it away. Personally I think that's great.


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## pythoness (Nov 1, 2007)

it's not a bad price considering, last year when i knew it was time to have my dog put to sleep after 13 years of loyal friendship, i was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact i would never see her again (yep i know, big sook) and i called around taxidermy places, and to have a cattle dog shipped and taxideried and then sent back to me was going to be in excess of $800.
i realise it's a bit creepy, but i was in grief, i took the cheeper option and had her cremated, so i still have her.
similarly, my snake whome died is burried in a plant pot, so i still have her too, kind of


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## Tojo (Nov 1, 2007)

It 's the same with everything when it is not around anymore,eg Phar lap,tasmanian tiger(taxidermy),John Lennon & Elvis all worth more now!


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## eladidare (Nov 1, 2007)

PhilK said:


> Mate if you think the croc was killed solely for the purpose of being stuffed you've got a few roos loose in the top paddock. As mentioned it was a pet, but normally they're not.. and even if they're not, they're probably farmed for the meat and the hide is used instead of just throwing it away. Personally I think that's great.


 

mate... read the thread!
there may be a few roos loose, but i never said that tojo's taxidermy croc wasnt a pet!
ok, taxidermy is fine when the pet is dead, obviously...
ive also said that i wasnt having a go at tojo 

*what im trying to say is that a croc COULD be killed then stuffed and sold for money on the black market...*

pm criticism!!!


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## reptilegirl_jordan (Nov 1, 2007)

i think its fine as long as the animal died of natural causes,the croc tojo is seling is mnad,i would buy it if i had $300.i was looking around the other day and seen a snake done the same way for $500


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## eladidare (Nov 1, 2007)

reptilegirl_jordan said:


> i think its fine as long as the animal died of natural causes,the croc tojo is seling is mnad,i would buy it if i had $300.i was looking around the other day and seen a snake done the same way for $500


 
exactly!
a stuffed animal that died from natural causes is fine.
but if an animal is killed then stuffed and is worth more, the illegal poaching of our wildlife 'might' become a problem.


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## PhilK (Nov 1, 2007)

Sorry mate I posted that before I read your post before mine.

All I was saying is that as long as they aren't killed solely for taxidermy it dosn't bother me.


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## reptilegirl_jordan (Nov 1, 2007)

eladidare said:


> exactly!
> a stuffed animal that died from natural causes is fine.
> but if an animal is killed then stuffed and is worth more, the illegal poaching of our wildlife 'might' become a problem.


right on


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## eladidare (Nov 1, 2007)

PhilK said:


> Sorry mate I posted that before I read your post before mine.
> 
> All I was saying is that as long as they aren't killed solely for taxidermy it dosn't bother me.


 
no need to apologise and well said!


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## coxy (Nov 1, 2007)

I don't think the demand is out there for it to really become a problem. taxidermy isn't cheap, demand isn't great as we can see from tojo having to drop the price on his one for sale, and for what it is it is a bargain.


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## Colin (Nov 1, 2007)

slim6y said:


> Why don't we stuff our dead relatives and put them on mounts (note my careful choice of words here) yet we'd keep dead animals in similar fashion.




:lol: probably because we hate our relatives but love our animals


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## Lucas (Nov 1, 2007)

I think its perfectly fine, taxadermy that is. 

I do however, prefer it when the animals are stuffed while alive, you see, that ensures that the pose that they end up in is quite natural and realistic (you should see the realistic snarl on a lion that has been stuffed alive).

As for stuffing crocs, dead ones that is, they have had to have been shot before hand so the stay still in the ute....It can be quite tricky getting one back in the ute in the middle of peak hour traffic...

Its quite tasteful to have a stuffed croc next to your pool, as a coffee table, letter box etc. It makes you the envy of all your neighbours.


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## Tojo (Nov 1, 2007)

Thanks for the support guys.I would buy it off my Gran myself as it looks so real but have snakes to acquire(live ones that is!)Just doing her a favour as she didn,t know where to sell it.


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## Charlie V (Nov 1, 2007)

eladidare said:


> ?????? :? (not having a go miss B, but it is straight forward)
> 
> dead croc=bad
> alive croc=good
> ...



You seem to be operating off a few assumptions here, which I will try and identify as best I can.

1 - Crocodiles are worth more, to you, when they are alive.
2 - No crocodile should ever be killed.
3 - Further, crocodiles are worth more (to you) than most mammals
4 - In addition, people who don't share your assumptions are 'bad'.

Personally, I take umbrage at all four assumptions. Once an animal becomes commercially viable, it will be farmed and it's population maintained. Can you imagine cows or sheep ever being endangered? So long as a stable and plentiful population is maintained, then killing crocs for their meat, their skin, or to have them stuffed is a-ok with me, so long as it is done humanely. After all, we do the same things to cattle and sheep, which are no less important animals.


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## PremierPythons (Nov 1, 2007)

slim6y said:


> Why don't we stuff our dead relatives and put them on mounts (note my careful choice of words here) yet we'd keep dead animals in similar fashion.
> 
> Well, each to their own...



I'm gonna get an infraction for sure if I reply to this post...


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## pugsly (Nov 1, 2007)

PMSL Lucas...

As stated, if you think there is a market to go croc hunting to sell as taxidermy's then you are a couple of beers short of a 6 pack..


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## eladidare (Nov 1, 2007)

Charlie V said:


> You seem to be operating off a few assumptions here, which I will try and identify as best I can.
> 
> 1 - Crocodiles are worth more, to you, when they are alive.
> 2 - No crocodile should ever be killed.
> ...


 
if only i chose words like that. 
the only thing i disagree with is the farming of crocs, in the farms ive been to they arent treated humanely and they die on a daily basis. 
croc farm is just a glorified name for slaughter house.

not all people who disagree with me are bad, only those who support the opposite,


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## Lucas (Nov 1, 2007)

Like most things in life you have to have a look at the bigger picture before you focus on the small print otherwise things get taken out of context.


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## Kathryn_ (Nov 1, 2007)

I've got a few dead animals in my house, a slaty croc skull and a bunch of bugs including a big praying mantis. I feel a lot dogier about the insects to be honest - the croc skull was from a farm in Darwin that was certified as sustainable by the department of parks and wildlife, the rest of it went for meat, leather etc and I can't honestly see a moral difference between farming a cow for beef and leather or a croc for the same. The bugs, however, are from south east asia and were very likely taken from the wild and killed specifically so they could end up on my wall, which isn't exactly defensible. All I can say is that I bought them off other people, so my money didn't go directly to the buggers that killed them. 

Why have them? Because they look cool, and I couldn't easily keep any of those animals as pets.

Eladidare: If you're going to talk about humane treatment of farmed animals, I hope you're a vegan. Otherwise you simply can't comment.


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## Khagan (Nov 1, 2007)

Taxidermy isn't as simple as finding a dead animal stuffing and poof you got 500 bucks.. The way your thinking it just wouldn't work, it would take a lot of time just to correctly do 1 animal and then you have to try and sell it. The demand isn't that big so in reality you would be spending a lot of time to make something that is hard to shift that in the end would be worth as much or less than a live one which is likely easier to sell.


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## waruikazi (Nov 1, 2007)

eladidare said:


> croc farm is just a glorified name for slaughter house.
> ,



Of course they are a slaughter house. The crocs are bred for their meat and hides, i doubt there would be too many people that would want to wear a live croc.


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## [email protected] (Nov 1, 2007)

Listen to all you greenies out there, why don't you go and chain yourself to a croc if they are so important. I think most people on this forum keep reptiles as pets. So aren't all the people against taxidermy hypocrites, if you think taxidermy is wrong you should re-think having a reptile as a pet. Isn't that as cruel, locking an animal up. At least the croc is dead. Oh i nearly forgot someone probably feeds their kids with the profit, now that really is terrible.


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## jonesc1 (Nov 2, 2007)

And I'm guessing your not a "greenie" for saying its cruel to lock animals up? Seems everyones a hypocrite.


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## addy (Nov 2, 2007)

You know it sounds like a great way to earn an easy $100...just kill a croc and get it stuffed...except stuffing a croc costs more than $100.


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## addy (Nov 2, 2007)

Oh this thread has turned into a moral debate....i love replying to a thread to learn that on page 3 the topic has transformed into something else...How about this.

Crocodile farms take stress away from natural populations that would otherwise be consistantly hunted. 
And if you have a problem with that you should stop eating all kinds of meat and eggs and dairly products and go hunt your own food.. We have a massive population and to feed us all we need to farm animals. Thats the sad truth. 
Now excuss me while i throw perfectly good eggs at people's doors.

oh and if you think you can avoid responsibility be being a vegetarian (watch my spelling), think again..Your Ethical vegetables were fertalised using chicken crap...thats right...crap that came out of "non-free range" farmed chickens. Many of wich ended up on my dinner plate. My dinner plate!....There is blood on your vegetables.


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## eladidare (Nov 2, 2007)

Lucas said:


> Like most things in life you have to have a look at the bigger picture before you focus on the small print otherwise things get taken out of context.


 
well said.

i have been doing a bit of research since everyone started slagging me with their keyboards, and i have decided to do something about it


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## Jen (Nov 2, 2007)

no one has mentioned all the thousands of cane toads taxidermied every year and sold to tourists. If you think that it is wrong to taxidermy a native croc, how do you feel about the same thing being done to a pest?


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## eladidare (Nov 2, 2007)

Jen said:


> no one has mentioned all the thousands of cane toads taxidermied every year and sold to tourists. If you think that it is wrong to taxidermy a native croc, how do you feel about the same thing being done to a pest?


 
when did i ever sau i was against taxidermy?:?


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## Jen (Nov 2, 2007)

eladidare said:


> when did i ever sau i was against taxidermy?:?



eladidare, this wasn't specifically directed at you, i was just curious about the attitude of those who had posted against taxidermy on this subject


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## Lucas (Nov 2, 2007)

I will again bring attention to my previous post.............

Taxadermy has been around for many thousands of years, Egyptians, Mayans, Incas, Aztecs etc......










Lucas said:


> I think its perfectly fine, taxadermy that is.
> 
> I do however, prefer it when the animals are stuffed while alive, you see, that ensures that the pose that they end up in is quite natural and realistic (you should see the realistic snarl on a lion that has been stuffed alive).
> 
> ...


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## expansa1 (Nov 2, 2007)

Best check with your local authorities when purchasing taxidermied items like the croc. You DO actually require a licence for dead reptiles. Just checked with QPWS.


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## DEC (Nov 2, 2007)

In NSW all reptiles are protected. The definition in the National Parks and Wildlife Act reads "reptile means a snake, lizard, crocodile, tortoise, turtle or other member of the class reptilia (whether native, introduced or imported), and includes the eggs and the young thereof and the skin or any other part thereof." . s a result of "any part thereof" you must be appropraitly licensed to hold or posses DEAD reptiles as well. 

This is also the case for native birds, amphibians and mammals.


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## Tojo (Nov 2, 2007)

Due to all the drama,I have informed my Gran the croc will have to go back in the cabinet for another 30 odd years.I have asked her to sell something less controversal to help her make ends meet.Therefore he is no longer for sale.As for having to have a licence for him it is not necessary as he became a taxidermy well before any reptile licencing for reptiles ever came about.Sorry to everyone who has gotten caught up in this thread ,I was purely trying to help a war widow get some much needed finances.


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## Frozenmouse (Nov 2, 2007)

Any stuffed crocodile or product has a serial number.


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