Visitor numbers exceed all expectations  

' World Taxidermy Championship' pulls in the crowds +++ 140 taxidermists from 25 countries participate +++ ' Master of Masters' awarded to German competitor +++ Avian Challenge also won by German +++ Salzburg taxidermist wins two medals +++ last three days of the World Taxidermy Championships staged alongside the >Hohe Jagd & Fischerei & Off-Road< +++

SALZBURG (27 th February 2008). - The Austrian national guild of furriers, taxidermists and tanners under BIM Otmar Sladky, as well as the taxidermist and accessories dealer, Franz Schwarz, and Reed Exhibitions Messe Salzburg landed a very big fish around one year ago! Last year the World Taxidermy Championships were held in Reno , Nevada in the USA . In 2008 they have come to Europe for the very first time; to Salzburg ! The one-week event was held from the 18 th to the 24 th of February at the SalzburgArena. Clever scheduling enabled the last three days of the world championships to be combined with the international hunting, fishing and off-road vehicle show, the >Hohe Jagd & Fischerei & Off-Road<, also held alongside the fair for traditions and customs, the 3 rd edition of >Heimat und Volkskultur<. The exhibits from the World Taxidermy Championships were only open to the general public on these final three days. The event attracted enormous public interest. An exact total of 42,518 visitors was counted through the turnstiles to the taxidermy world championships.

'We were absolutely 'delighted to have been able to attract such a unique event for expert taxidermists, hunters and anglers to Salzburg ; especially as the competition was celebrating its first ever European appearance. As host city for the world's very best taxidermists, Salzburg became a global centre of attention for a whole week', declared Johann Jungreithmair, CEO of the organisers, Reed Exhibitions Messe Salzburg, and himself a hunting enthusiast.

Otmar Sladky, the Austrian master guildsman of the furriers, taxidermists and tanners, was also very pleased to have seen the event staged in Salzburg : 'We were very glad to have Reed Exhibitions organise the event. Austria 's top taxidermists' excellent contacts with Larry Blomquist enabled the show to be brought to Europe, to Austria ! I wish to express my gratitude to all those involved in making this fantastic and successful event happen'.

Reed shared this debt of gratitude. 'I would like to extend my sincere thanks to everybody involved in making this event such a fantastic success. The founder and mastermind of the WTC, Larry Blomquist. The national guild of furriers represented by Otmar Sladky (BIM) and Wolfgang Muth (Mag.), the tireless engine of this event. The taxidermist and accessories trader Franz Schwarz from Lower Austria; the European association of taxidermists; the jurors, the countless behind-the-scenes helpers - and not forgetting Reed's exhibition manager, Georg Coester, and the participating taxidermists. They all deserve a big round of applause'.

Patronage of the highest order
Patronage for the World Taxidermy Championships 2008 was taken on by the European Taxidermy Federation, Austria's Bundeskanzler Dr. Alfred Gusenbauer, Vice-Chancellor,  Wilhelm Molterer (Mag.), Bundesminister Josef Pröll (Dipl.Ing), the Austrian Guild of Furriers and the leading international taxidermy periodical, `Breakthrough`. A total of €30,000 was awarded, €23,000 of which were donated by the organisers; €7000 coming from other sponsors. Helmut Lein, Head of Sales for the main sponsors, Swarovski Optik KG, commented: 'Swarovski Optik is the world's leading manufacturers of superior quality optical magnification technology. We were delighted to be able to back the championships as the main sponsor, thus helping to the hunting community to benefit from this unique opportunity'.

The world championships are divided into three classes for evaluation: Masters, Professionals and Novices. The 2008 world champions were gold medal winners from the Masters' class. Special awards were sponsored by Franz Schwarz, Lange, Wonder Case, Eurocase-Gratzer, Bouten, Reed Exhibitions Messe Salzburg, the Austrian Group of Taxidermy Professionals, the German Taxidermy Association (VDP) and the European Taxidermy Federation.

The masters' class is divided into 16 categories, and 19 categories in the professional and novice classes. Such categories include 'small huntable game', shoulder and head mounts of deer, fish, skeletons, reproductions and models. The division of the categories has been designed to help find the world's best exponent in each category. (For the list of categories - see http://www.wtc08.com/aussteller/kategorien.html ) . Basically, it is left up to the participants to decide on the class in which their work is evaluated, and thus on the degree of skill expected. Categories are automatically allocated according to the type of exhibit submitted. The jury and arbitration commission were made up of Larry Blomquist (chairperson), Ken Edwards (vice-chairperson), Dieter Schön, Karl Matt and a number of other experienced and recognised experts of international acclaim.

140 taxidermist participate from 25 countries
The first ever taxidermy world championships was held in 1983 in the USA and featured around 400 exhibits. This year in Salzburg , the competition being held in Europe for the first time ever, the event started up with 500 exhibits. Hence, the number of submissions received exceeded all expectations! In the end there were 140 taxidermists from 25 countries, particularly from Europe and overseas. Approximately 500 entries were submitted for evaluation featuring a total of around 1000 preserved animals in the SalzburgArena as many dioramas were made up of two or more animals. At a press conference on Thursday evening (21.02.2008) the winners and the world champions in the 16 Master Class categories were announced by the chairman of the jury, Larry Blomquist. Larry Blomquist was 'delighted with the extraordinarily large number of participants' and that 'the decision to stage the World Taxidermy Championships outside the USA for the first time was the right one'. 'Furthermore, the chairman of the jury was thrilled by the quality of the entries submitted. In 2007 a lack of quality led to 'world champion' titles only being awarded in ten categories; this year saw them awarded in twelve.

'Master of Masters' comes from Germany
The 'Master of Masters' prize was awarded to Dirk Opalka of Wildlife Präparationsatelier in Fuhlendorf, Germany, for his fox pair exhibit. Two medals went to Austria . The Salzburg taxidermist Hans Niedermair from Bruck an der Glocknerstraße was awarded gold in the 'full body - large huntable mammals' category for his Mufflon sheep. The man from Pinzgau was also awarded silver in the 'full body - small/medium huntable mammals' category for a chamois goat. (NB: The complete lists of world champions and other prizewinners can be downloaded from the webpage under http://www.wtc08.com/presse/award_2008.html and http://www.wtc08.com/presse/competitors_award.html )  

Numerous special awards
The Masters' Class also hosted the Collective Artists Award. Submissions had to be produced by at least two taxidermists. Above all this award was an opportunity for companies to measure the quality of their work according to the highest international standards. The winning team was awarded the title 'World Champions'. The 2008 prize was also won by the Germans, Jürgen Fiebig and Robert Stein of the Museum of Natural History in Berlin.

The 'Avian Challenge' involved the simulation of the 'in-motion' posture of a common pheasant according to the content of a photograph provided by the organisers. However, there was no 'world champion' title awarded for the winner of this special prize. This prize was awarded to René Diebitz of Leipzig in Germany.

Spirited gala evening
The official ceremony for all the awards of titles and prizes in 2008 took place on the agenda of the Saturday evening gala on the 23 rd of February, at the Stiegl-Keller in Salzburg . Around 350 guests took up their invitations and ensured there was a good atmosphere at the awards ceremony; some winners being rewarded with a 'standing ovation'. One of the show acts involved the showing of the exhibits submitted by the runner-up of the 'Red Fox Austria Award'. The prize was awarded at the >Hohe Jagd & Fischerei & Off-Road<.

'Red Fox Austria Award' on the way to Vienna
Otmar Sladky, the Austrian master guildsman of the furriers, taxidermists and tanners, explained the idea of the prize. 'This award was created to remind consumers and hunters that every year valuable furs produced in the course of the ecological regulation of small predators remain almost completely unused. However, master furriers could create a wide range of products from these leftovers. The Red Fox Austria Award involves a jury of experts and celebrities scrutinising Haute Couture products manufactured by domestic furriers. Out of the 15 furriers who entered, this time Alfred Pospisil of Pelze Pospisil in the 10 th district of Vienna won ahead of two furriers from Lower Austria, Michael Bornett (Maria Enzersdorf) and Matthias Derflinger (Mödling). The organiser, Wolfgang Muth (Mag.), deputy head of the national guild within the chambers of commerce, explained, 'the Red Fox Austria Award is an appeal to hunters and consumers to put this exquisite hunting bi-product to good use'. (+++)

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