Usually, it's said that taxidermy, the process of making typically lifelike representations of dead animals, is to preserve the way these animals look and use this for education, science, or simply as an art piece. Yet, sometimes, these representations turn out so bad that the only applicable function for them is to either make people laugh or scare them.

And that's what we're going to be looking at today -- lousy taxidermy results collected by the dedicated Instagram page @terrible.taxidermy. So, brace yourself because some of these pieces might haunt your dreams.

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Taxidermy is the practice of creating lifelike representations of animals’ carcasses for education, scientific research, or simply decoration. Typically, the goal of taxidermy is to create a lifelike representation of the animal, yet some artists aim for more stylized pieces. Usually, the taxidermy is realized by mounting or stuffing the animal’s body. 

The practice can be traced back to ancient times when it was a custom to preserve trophies of the hunt. Yet, taxidermy as a way of turning animals into art started growing during Enlightenment times. 

The earliest known mount that exists today is a crocodile hanging from the ceiling of a cathedral in Ponte Nossa, Italy. Its document dates back to 1534, which leads experts to know that it is at least that old. 

By the early 18th century, chemical means of preserving things such as hair, skin, and feathers made possible attempts to recreate the appearance of living animals. A century later, taxidermy became established as a museum art. 

For their works, modern taxidermists use various materials. For example, wood wool. Historically, this material was used both in taxidermy and for upholstery. Today, it is used because it’s an affordable and sustainable material. 

Tow fiber is also used by modern taxidermists and was used in the past for upholstery as well. Its versatility and sustainability make it a great choice for a stuffing material. The only trouble is that it can be quite tricky to get hold of it. 

Additionally, there’s an option to buy ready-made hard foam bodies. Similarly, the eyes, which typically are glass or acrylic, can also be purchased from taxidermy suppliers. 

Of course, our list isn’t extensive – each taxidermist has their own materials, techniques, and so on. Yet, as can be seen, some of our mentioned materials have established their place in taxidermy for quite some time now. 

Many modern taxidermists are a part of so-called ethical taxidermy. These specialists only use animals that have died of natural causes or have been humanely euthanized. Also, sustainable materials and practices are used here, too. Basically, it’s a philosophy of ethical sourcing, humane practices, and conservation principles. 

Traditional taxidermy is sometimes associated with hunting for trophies and using non-sustainable materials for preservation, and, well, ethical taxidermy is the opposite of that. 

Skillfully done ethical taxidermy can be a useful way to preserve the image of threatened or extinct species so future generations can have a visual of creatures that no longer exist. 

Well, let’s just hope that the images taxidermists are trying to leave for future generations don’t look like those in today’s list because these surely would give the wrong idea about animals nowadays. Well, at least we can laugh about them (or get terrified of them) right now, can’t we?