A FORMER mental health worker has astonished her friends and family by having more than 20 stuffed animals in her home.
Karen Unrue, who lives in South Ealing, has collected 22 pieces of taxidermy in only 18 months and has everything from squirrels to hares - and even a flamingo. The 52-year-old is hoping to make a living out of the preserved animals and wants to change people's views of the Victorian craft.
Miss Unrue said: "The collection started when I saw a stuffed fish and I fell in love with it.
"I like delving into the weird and wonderful and have some Victorian rogue taxidermy such as a winged kitten, as well as the traditional deer head.
"All of the animals are in the study, which has now been turned into a gentleman's club, a kind of Victorian library room or a curiosity shop.
"My friends say they don't like being in there and think we're bonkers, but they do see the beauty in there.
"Taxidermy has a reputation for macabre creepiness, but when it's done well, it's really beautiful and there is a stigma that it's mainly older people who have these in a corner of their home and that it's not fashionable.
"I just think many people are uncomfortable in the idea that something dead appears life-like."
Miss Unrue has completed a taxidermy course with her partner and is hoping to expand her collection, as well as open up her own business.
