I did search the archives!LOL Just wondering if anyone has ever tried vacuum sealing a green hide. I know this would not be economical for very many, but thought it might be a good idea for a "special" or very expensive skin that you might not be able to get to for awhile. I have 3 bobcat kittens i want to skin and vacuum seal until my competition skills are worthy.
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Tan them first. Vaccuuming will certainly prevent freezer burn or freeze drying, but it all depends on that vaccuum. If you skin the cats after measuring them, and tan their skins, they'll stay viable in the freezer forever. Still vaccuum pack them, just have them tanned and you'll have two safety valves instead of one working for you.
I vaccuum all of my stuff that goes in the freezer. You can reuse the bags more than once. You will also find when you vacu seal things, there will be more room in the freezer and there is no digging through garbage bags asking yourself "well, what might this be?"
I heard that Steve Dean vacuum sealed his stuff. I know of one prominent fur dealer (western) that vacuum seals all their frozen whole stuff. So there's 2 big boys for you to weigh in against -- it shold work just fine. Just make sure to tuck in the claws and keep the barrier pristine, any puncture of the vacuum seal will result in complete loss of benefits.