Arizona Game And Fish Auction Includes Antlers, Hide And Taxidermy
Download mp3 (1.13 MB)Hundreds of antlers, taxidermy mounts of animals, hides and more will be auctioned at the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Outdoor Expo in Phoenix this weekend.
Game and Fish collects the items through seizures by law enforcement, donations, and discoveries in the wild, then auctions them off to generate more revenue. The proceeds go toward wildlife protection efforts.
This year’s collection features a large donation of African wildlife safari pieces.
But, there is one piece this year that stands out as the most unusual.
“It's a full polar bear hide rug with the head and everything on it. Those are exceptionally rare,” said Ken Dinquel, the wildlife law enforcement coordinator. “We have documentation on where this thing came from and all that. It was taken in the late 1950s by a guy in the military who was stationed up in Alaska.”
The auction is a popular among people who want to decorate their cabins, homes or businesses, and people who enjoy hunting — or those who simply want to repurpose.
“People like artists and craftsmen like to make things out of the antlers. They’ll make furniture, chandeliers, knife handles, belt buckles you name it. They make all sorts of stuff out of it, so there’s actually a pretty decent market for this type of item,” said Dinquel.
The auction has been running for almost 20 years, but moved to the expo a few years ago. The proceeds go to the state’s wildlife protection efforts, specifically its anti-poaching measures.
