
From the Egyptians to the Victorians, the art of taxidermy is one that has been practised over the millennia to preserve animals for posterity.

Those who carry out such a technique should surely have the right skills - but judging by the sad examples below, the process has obviously been more taxing than taxidermy for these amateurs.

From slit-eyed polar bears to a cross-legged fox and a cat looking like it has lived well beyond its allocated nine lives, feast your eyes on these tragic furry friends.

Grin and bear it! He may look happy, but there's nothing natural about the permanent grin plastered on this poor brown bear

If there's one thing that gets my goat...Thankfully this poor specimen is no longer alive to feel the effects of a ricked neck

Warts and all, or not: It was meant to be a sweet scene of mother warthog and babies, but instead she is left sow-er faced

If ever there was a shaggy dog story to be had, it must be the wretched tale of someone's beloved pooch ending up like this

Eye can see you! A look of surprise is plastered on this canine's face and it even looks less natural than the dummy behind

Cat-astrophe! With a contorted neck and look of shock on her face, this poor leopard is stuck in this gaze for the rest of time

Double cross: It's pretty hard to focus on anything but the unfortunate green eyes of this mistreated moggy

Is it a bear? Is it a dog? Is it a wolf? Actually, it's hard to tell how this once fine specimen started out before it was stuffed

I've got some fin to tell you: If this marine creature could only speak, it would let us know exactly what happened to it

Paw, paw creature: When alive this animal was no doubt a wonderful example of its species, but now its just unrecognisable

Feline not so well: This big cat looks like it's in the running to join the clown troop at the local circus with its bright red nose

Every dog has its day and for this pooch it's already come and gone, while its friend looks like a deer caught in the headlights

It's all in the eyes: The big cat on the left has a Fonz-like gaze, while the polar bear seemingly looks on with suspicion

Fangs a lot! If only this poor cat could speak, one wonders what it would do next to the taxidermist who created this...

Less than purrfect: The double-jointed cat, who inexplicably can bend his paws backward and not-so-fantastic Mr Fox

More pet horrors await, this time in the wake of a cat with a slit for a mouth and a dog with an elongated pink tongue

I'm not lion to you: Well, we think the one on the right is a lion, while its friend on the left is a poor excuse for an antelope

Jaws dropping: There's probably a fishy tale behind what exactly happened to this preserved predator of the ocean

When it comes to tales of terrible taxidermy, this raccoon-teur can tell you all, but the moggy remains tight-lipped