A handbag made from the remains of a dead cat has gone up for auction in New Zealand, bringing new meaning to the idea of “letting the cat out of the bag”.
The taxidermy bag, being touted as “not for the faint-hearted”, has been put up for sale on Trade Me for close to $1400.
According to Stuff.co.nz, the unusual item was made by Christchurch taxidermist Claire Hobbs who said no animals were killed or hurt in the making of it.
It’s believed Hobbs kept the cat, which was killed by a car, in a freezer for three months while she tried to locate the owner.
She doesn’t take commissions and most of the animals used in her work are feral.
“I guess because it’s a domestic animal people get a bit funny about it. I don’t kill animals for my work, it’s not as though I go around snuffing out animals thinking this’ll make a nice handbag,” Hobbs said.
A spokesman for Trade Me told Stuff.co.nz said sellers’ assurances that there was no cruelty involved were taken at face value.
“It is certainly a statement bag and while it’s not for me, we suspect there will be a buyer out there who is keen. This is a pretty unusual bag and we expect the auction will attract a lot of attention over the next few days,” he said.
“We’re not animal skin experts so we’ve taken a temperature check from our community and there is a wide spectrum of views – some all for it, some totally against it and a bunch of people who don’t care either way,” Mudge added.
Save Animals From Exploitation director Hans Kriek said while using animals that had been put down or died naturally for taxidermy was legal the cat handbag was in poor taste and was disrespectful to animals reported stuff.co.nz.
“If you were to do these with people it would be absolutely not acceptable … is turning a cat into a handbag any worse than turning an elephant’s foot into an umbrella stand?” Kriek said.
Social media users were quick to react.
“Just wrong and so disrespectful,” one person wrote.
“This is disgusting.. Not the slightest bit creative or artistic,” another wrote on the auction website while another added “That is sick!! I love animals and you are totally disrespecting them !!!”
A user by the name of Dazart said, “What the hell is wrong with you??!!”.
Others were less offended by the bag.
“Not my cup of tea but what’s the big deal? People have animal heads on their wall so a cat bag isn’t a big step. If you don’t like it don’t get one,” another added.
Taxidermy is legal in New Zealand.
This article was originally published on news.com.au
