No trendy bar or loft apartment is complete, it seems, without all or part of a stuffed beast glaring from your walls.

The young British artist Polly Morgan, who calls herself a “fine art taxidermist” and who specialises in striking arrangements of small animals in antique bell jars, counts Kate Moss and Sharleen Spiteri among her clients.

Evidence of this renewed interest in taxidermy can be seen around the country. A snarling American black bear standing on its hind legs sold this week at Bonhams, the London auctioneers, for £17,000. Its pre-sale estimate was £2,000 to £3,000.

At Tennant’s auctioneers, in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, more than 100 antique specimens, including tigers, lions, leopards, gazelles, deer and a golden eagle, are being offered for auction later this month. The collection is expected to raise up to £120,000.

The head of a Bengal tiger that was shot in Mysore, southern India, 120 years ago, has an estimated price of £1,000-£1,500, but may fetch considerably more. There is also the head of an Indian rhino, dating from about 1900, which was preserved by the renowned taxidermist Rowland Ward. It is estimated that it will fetch £1,200.

Adam Schoon, of Tennant’s, said that all lots were being sold with appropriate licences. He added: “A new breed of collector is emerging. Interior decorators — people who have never been near a gun — are snapping them up for castles, country estates, even modern houses.

Taxidermists are governed by strict laws and use animals that have died of natural causes.

There have been no big seizures of illegal taxidermy since a shop called Get Stuffed in Islington, North London, was raided and the owner imprisoned in 2000. The shop is still open, but now caters for the continuing demand for legal items.

Ms Morgan said: “People are coming to their senses, post-political correctness, and rediscovering the beauty of what the world is all about.”

A spokeswoman for the WWF, the conservation organisation, said: “We hope the renewed interest in taxidermy does not lead to an increase in illegal trade in endangered species.”

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