The Art Of Stuff

One of the world’s leading taxidermists creates his award-winning models in a former slaughterhouse in Orrell

- Paul Mackenzie

Jack Fishwick is one of the best taxidermists in the world and he has the awards to prove it. He has almost 50 years of experience and a talent that has taken him around the world. His work is in museums and galleries and has been used by generations of people studying wildlife.

But the 65-year-old from Orrell isn’t resting on his laurels. ‘It’s only when you see something better that you realise how good things can be,’ he said. ‘I always look for the faults in my work so I can make it better next time.

‘In 2001 I entered the World Taxidermy Championships in the USA and was named third in the world. I was given three of the highest scores in the whole competition and I realised then I was still hopeless and had a lot to learn.’

He has been learning constantly since he started in taxidermy as a teenager at Leicester University in 1972. After his A-levels, his twin loves of art and wildlife led him to write to every museum in Britain with a taxidermy or natural history department asking for an opportunity. He had two replies, but only one of them was positive.

‘I had always been interested in wildlife – I was a keen bird watcher and went fishing and wanted to paint them. As a child I saw taxidermy at a museum in York and my parents said I was transfixed.

‘When I was a trainee taxidermist in Leicester I did the basic jobs for a year – skinning and cleaning the birds and small mammals. It was repetitive and I thought it was the best form of learning. The dead birds we were making are valuable for everyone who studies them – they can detect evolution, migration patterns, all sorts of things.