Vegetarian taxidermists are challenging stereotypes about the art of animal preservation

Taxidermist Jo Bain has worked with dead animals for 40 years, but the idea of consuming meat fills him with horror.

“I’ve been vegetarian since I was 10 years old,” he said.

“Just the smell of raw meat makes me feel sick.”

That might sound like a counterintuitive statement for someone who deals with animal cadavers for a living, but Mr Bain has no difficulty reconciling his diet with his profession.

The 55-year-old is the resident taxidermist and model maker at the South Australian Museum, where…