I am new to taxidermy & know some of the laws of PA. one being that you cannot charge any $ not even for materials if not licensed.Which for the beginner expecially ones who have'nt much money to play with seems unfair.Which brings me to this ? what if the customer buys & brings the materials to you,there would be no money changing hands
& would make it afordable for the newbees? sounds fair but is it leagle?
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Thomas,
There is alot of good info in the archives about this subject. The person can gift you an animal,pay for the materials, but you must keep the mount or dispose of it.I happen to agree with you on being unfair.I think if you are not charging for the work, then you should be able to do as many animals as you want for practice.However the PGC doesn't go by what I think.Go figure.It's very hard as a newbie to get the animals you need without going broke buying things or quiting your job to hunt or trap. Makes me appreciate those who do have their license.I'm finding out that learning this trade happens over a period of time, and is not as instant as most would like.I'm in the same boat.I almost turned in my application for the April testing, but I realize I'm not prepared yet and probably won't have done enough taxidermy to feel competent till next year.Oh to have more patience!
My spouse is PA licensed, the test is given twice a year but yes, you do need a license to do work for others in this state. Besides the "general" license that lets you do all types of animals, the test can be broken down into categories, you could take your test for only fish, or only birds, or mammals. If you are strong in 1 of those areas, you could take your test for that item only, then you will be licensed to do work for others (on that particular animal only) That could get you started in the business while you work on the other things that you need to pass the other parts of the test..
Good luck
someone makes a gift of the animal and materials to you, you mount it and have to keep it or dispose of it,
you keep it for a while.
then on garbage nite 6 months after you mount it, you toss it on the garbage pile at the curb.
but.....
the person who gifted everything to you, drives by....sees the mount on the pile and picks it up and takes it home....
legal? or not?