In the cover story about taxidermy [“Practically Alive,” Feb. 13], Bill Fuchs says: “We take dead animals and bring them back to life. And, I mean, there can be nothing—that I know of—more satisfying than that.” Did it ever occur to him to let the animals live and preserve their beauty with a photograph?
I recently read about a newly defined psychological condition called “empathy deficit disorder.” Fuchs seemingly suffers from this condition. The article reminds me of a Wally Pleasant song entitled “The Day Ted Nugent Killed All the Animals.” Wally likens hunting to destroying all the paintings in an art museum after seeing them. What is it about humans that they need to destroy and possess animals?
For the Mountain Xpress to feature the gutting and stuffing of animals on the front page leads me to believe the staff also suffers from empathy deficit disorder. Describing taxidermy as an art form is ludicrous. In my book it is a form of depravity.
— Terri David
Asheville
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