BEMIDJI (AP)-- A northern Minnesota man who is an expert in European mount taxidermy says demand for his work is increasing.

Tony Petrie of Bemidji works as a sergeant in the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office but practices taxidermy in his spare time.

Petrie's European mount taxidermy approach involves stripping an animal to its core to clean its skull. He uses maceration tanks filled with hot water that allows bacteria to bloom and eat away at the meat and tallow. The skulls are then scrubbed clean and treated with chemicals.

Petrie says he charges $130 per skull and averages 400 skulls a year. He says that while demand is rising, he remains the only taxidermist within a few hundred miles of Bemidji.

More From AM 1240 WJON