Get Stuffed

Slaughtered - that was the headline greeting Londoners today from the Evening Standard. Apparently, a 10 day old tiger cub was killed, stuffed and then sold in the capital for £20,000.

Yep! Some sicko had it as a “house ornament”! Apparently, when the tiger cub was seized by poachers it would have been unable to open it eyes. Nice!

Robert Sclare, who runs a taxidermy shop in Islington – called Get Stuffed – was jailed for six months but was that enough for someone who was peddling a stuffed wolf, a gorilla and a chimpanzee, amongst other things? And what about the buyers; surely they are culpable too?

But more shocking is the fact that our beloved city is doing a roaring trade in endangered species – particularly for the animals’ skins – so polar bears are also in peril, as well as rhinos and elephants.

I’m glad to see that super comedian Ricky Gervais is supporting the campaign to stop this nonsense:

“Don’t think you can ease your conscience with “It was already dead” or “It’s old or secondhand”. To purchase such goods is perpetuating and ensuring the market in killing species.”

Check out www.operationcharm.org, which is trying to stop this illegal trade in the capital. And if you see someone flogging such gear, give the police a tip off. The animals will thank you for it.

Woof Woof