Our Shop Ethics
The term “ethical” can vary drastically from one person to another.
What one might find ethical another may not... I try to be as open and honest about my products as i can be to give the buyer as much information as possible so they can make a decision that fits with their ethical standards.
How we source our insects
Most of my specimens are sourced from breeders from around the world as well as conservation projects, meaning there is little to no environmental impact all while maintaining a healthy wild population.​
In some cases, they are also sourced from personal collections/rearing and from within the pet trade
Many insect breeders rear animals from hatching and if they are a UK native species release them into the wild. While some cannot be released especially if not native to the UK, they are allowed to live out their natural lifespan in captivity, for example Death head hawk months are usually hand fed so they cannot be released into the wild as they are unable to feed themselves inevitably causing starvation and early death.
It is inevitable that with any captive breeding their is sadly natural deaths and complications requiring humane euthanasia
I do not personally kill any of my specimens.
Reptiles & exotic animals
The majority of our reptile and exotic specimens are sourced from breeders and from within the pet trade that have died of natural causes, we are also often donated privately owned pets to work with and give a second life to.
We hold a high standard towards animal welfare and will only work with reputable and responsible breeders/shops who comply with all UK laws regarding owning & keeping of exotic animals.
Often we are given stillborn puppy & kitten specimens, these come from reputable breeders or single litters.
We make sure that all breeders comply with all animal welfare laws and hold a high regard for animal care.
Animal skulls & bones
Many of my items are natural finds - this means there will be imperfections and damages to the skull as they are found naturally in places like woodland, fields, moors and beaches and come from animals that have died naturally in various ways.
Some animals come from RTA (road traffic accidents) - unfortunately it is very common for animals in the UK to be hit by vehicles. This can be a an almost instantaneous, painless death or it can cause the animal to be seriously injured and find shelter before passing or needing to be humanely euthanized if the injuries are too severe. Any animal that is found with injuries are taken to the closes medical assistance facilities to properly treat.​
Pest control animals are sometimes used - this is only animals that are invasive species causing a serious damaging effect on our UK wildlife for example Muntjac & Grey Squirrels who are humanely killed to control population numbers. The bodies are normally discarded as “waste “ so it is a way of honouring the death of an animal by using all parts, any meat or unusable parts are left to nature to be used as a source of food and nutrients as it is common for small animals to chew of bones for calcium and to help wear down teeth .​
Vintage taxidermy - for a lot of the vintage taxidermy it is extremely difficult to get an accurate and honest back story on how the animal was acquired but its not uncommon for most pieces to have come from hunting, trophy collectors or pest controllers.​
I do not condone the hunting of any animal for sport or taxidermy mounts - i only reuse and fix old mounts as a way of avoiding an animal being meaninglessly killed and discarded and to help bring new life into older pieces.​
Foragers - there is a huge community of people within the UK who forage for their own meat supplies, be it for personal consumption or use as raw feeds for pets. Usually parts like fur, heads and feet are not used and are typically donated or sold so all parts of an animal are used to avoid waste.​
I do not condone any forms of animal cruelty - this includes inhumane methods of euthanasia, trapping and the import of poached or farmed species from countries like China, These animals usually live in horrendous conditions, and are illegally taken from the wild causing severe climate impacts. These facilities have no regard for animal welfare. Buying "Oddities" from these sources including Bats, Mink, Cat/Dog, Fox, Siamese Crocodile, Muskrat, fuels the demand and thus encourages these practices.
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Sustainable packaging
We really care about the impact our small business has on the environment!
We take steps to make our packaging as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible, like reusing cardboard boxes for orders where possible and using either paper filler or biodegradable loose fill packaging that is 100% biodegradable starch that breaks down naturally over time.
Our products are currently wrapped in plastic bubble wrap to help protect them, while we are hoping to phase this out for a more environmentally friendly option we do reuse as much plastic material as possible to help reduce how much plastic waste we produce! this even includes our tape to seal our packages, we mostly use paper tape that is fully recyclable but on some packages to make sure they are fully secure we use plastic fragile tape.