Animal Parts and Ethics
I've had a few very polite enquiries about this, and it is an entirely valid issue for concern, so I want to make a few notes about the skulls and other animal bones I use.
I do sometimes get skulls from other crafters-of-dead-things, but most of my skulls are from dealers like Moscow Hide and Fur, Skulls Unlimited, and several eBay sellers who specialize in bones.
The vendors from whom I acquire my bones obtain them from a variety of sources: deceased zoological animals, roadkill, game park culls, destroyed nuisance animals, and so on. The majority of these skulls, however, are byproducts of hunting and trapping. The skulls I buy are all legally obtained from areas in which the species is not threatened.
As I have said before, I personally do not have any moral objection to hunting and trapping when it is done respectfully and responsibly,* and when the animals are plentiful enough in the area to sustain the casualties.**
Every species I have worked with so far is abundant in the wild, though perhaps not in all parts of its former range. It is for this reason that, unless I can come by a skull secondhand or acquire one from an animal that suffered an accidental death or had to be put down, I may never work with animals that are vulnerable or threatened, and which may become endangered in the near future: mountain lions and wolverines are examples of species whose status is in dispute. I work with non-threatened species, and with only one exception (Violet; the spotted hyena's non-threatened status is conservation-dependent), they are species of least concern.***
I don't expect everyone is going to be okay with this. Some people are against hunting, period, same as some people are against eating meat, period. I completely respect that, and I'm not going to harass anyone about their opinion. I do expect the same in return, though. I have researched the issue and have come to my own conclusions, and I'm doing this in a way that I feel does not contribute to irresponsible wildlife management or to undue suffering.
By doing what I do, I am not encouraging irresponsible use. No animal was killed specifically for the bones I am using. I am simply making art from something that would otherwise be discarded. By doing so, I do not feed directly into the supply/demand loop of the fur trade, and yet I am encouraging the use of all parts of animals that are killed.
So far, the pelts I own are from domesticated animals, food game, or - like my wolf pelt - were obtained secondhand from other collectors or crafters selling off parts of their collection. I intend to try to keep it that way.
Those of you who have read me for any length of time are aware of my deep devotion to living animals, so I think I can be believed when I say that respect extends to the dead animals with whom I work. I treat them with the utmost care, and I try to honor their remains by using them in a respectful manner.
I hope that clears up any lingering worry or questions anyone has about my sources or my motives. If someone disapproves, I at least don't want them to think I am doing what I am doing because I'm ignorant or uncaring. I care very much, and am always aware of exactly what it is I am working with.
* Hence my opposition to methods like aerial hunting and poison.
** Which has all along been my beef with the delisting of the Northern Rockies gray wolf. I do not object to wolf hunting; I object to the wholesale slaughter of the wolf those states had proposed, which at this fragile point would destroy their ability to re-colonize their former range. The states involved have woefully inadequate game management plans for the wolf, and until that is rectified I will not support the delisting of the gray wolf, nor the sport hunting of any wolf in the lower 48.
*** ETA 10/08, 11/08, 05/13: This policy has not changed, but I wish to note that I have, in fact, come into possession of an ethically-sourced wolverine skull, a secondhand African lion skull, and a legally-obtained cougar skull. And, while we are hardly endangered, I feel obligated to say that I have a human skull-cap. I did not pay for it, it was passed on to me, and no, it was no-one I knew. And I have some of my dad's teeth. Just so you all understand that I'm being totally honest.
I do sometimes get skulls from other crafters-of-dead-things, but most of my skulls are from dealers like Moscow Hide and Fur, Skulls Unlimited, and several eBay sellers who specialize in bones.
The vendors from whom I acquire my bones obtain them from a variety of sources: deceased zoological animals, roadkill, game park culls, destroyed nuisance animals, and so on. The majority of these skulls, however, are byproducts of hunting and trapping. The skulls I buy are all legally obtained from areas in which the species is not threatened.
As I have said before, I personally do not have any moral objection to hunting and trapping when it is done respectfully and responsibly,* and when the animals are plentiful enough in the area to sustain the casualties.**
Every species I have worked with so far is abundant in the wild, though perhaps not in all parts of its former range. It is for this reason that, unless I can come by a skull secondhand or acquire one from an animal that suffered an accidental death or had to be put down, I may never work with animals that are vulnerable or threatened, and which may become endangered in the near future: mountain lions and wolverines are examples of species whose status is in dispute. I work with non-threatened species, and with only one exception (Violet; the spotted hyena's non-threatened status is conservation-dependent), they are species of least concern.***
I don't expect everyone is going to be okay with this. Some people are against hunting, period, same as some people are against eating meat, period. I completely respect that, and I'm not going to harass anyone about their opinion. I do expect the same in return, though. I have researched the issue and have come to my own conclusions, and I'm doing this in a way that I feel does not contribute to irresponsible wildlife management or to undue suffering.
By doing what I do, I am not encouraging irresponsible use. No animal was killed specifically for the bones I am using. I am simply making art from something that would otherwise be discarded. By doing so, I do not feed directly into the supply/demand loop of the fur trade, and yet I am encouraging the use of all parts of animals that are killed.
So far, the pelts I own are from domesticated animals, food game, or - like my wolf pelt - were obtained secondhand from other collectors or crafters selling off parts of their collection. I intend to try to keep it that way.
Those of you who have read me for any length of time are aware of my deep devotion to living animals, so I think I can be believed when I say that respect extends to the dead animals with whom I work. I treat them with the utmost care, and I try to honor their remains by using them in a respectful manner.
I hope that clears up any lingering worry or questions anyone has about my sources or my motives. If someone disapproves, I at least don't want them to think I am doing what I am doing because I'm ignorant or uncaring. I care very much, and am always aware of exactly what it is I am working with.
* Hence my opposition to methods like aerial hunting and poison.
** Which has all along been my beef with the delisting of the Northern Rockies gray wolf. I do not object to wolf hunting; I object to the wholesale slaughter of the wolf those states had proposed, which at this fragile point would destroy their ability to re-colonize their former range. The states involved have woefully inadequate game management plans for the wolf, and until that is rectified I will not support the delisting of the gray wolf, nor the sport hunting of any wolf in the lower 48.
*** ETA 10/08, 11/08, 05/13: This policy has not changed, but I wish to note that I have, in fact, come into possession of an ethically-sourced wolverine skull, a secondhand African lion skull, and a legally-obtained cougar skull. And, while we are hardly endangered, I feel obligated to say that I have a human skull-cap. I did not pay for it, it was passed on to me, and no, it was no-one I knew. And I have some of my dad's teeth. Just so you all understand that I'm being totally honest.