About B&D Taxidermy

Our Mission Statement: We promise to treat every mount as if it is a trophy to be treasure by your family for years to come. 

B&D Taxidermy has been creating memories for hunters since 2003.  The shop is a home based business located in North St. Louis County.  There are two Taxidermists on staff, Don Whitelaw and Billy Strate.    

Don Whitelaw a full time master taxidermist.  He has 12 years of experience.  He is self-taught.  He worked for a couple of local taxidermy shops before going out on his own.  He worked under Barb Boshert from BJ Taxidermy for several years where he fine tuned his skills.  One of Don's mounts, a black bear, can be seen on display at Cabelas Outfitter’s in Hazelwood, Missouri.  He has also done freelance work for a few out of town taxidermy shops. 

Don is 34 years old.  He and his wife, Dawn, have been married for 10 years.  They have three children; Brooke (10), Brianna (10), and Kayla (7)
In his spare time Donny enjoys hunting and fishing.  He donates his time to coaching his daughters’ soccer teams.  He is also a Vice-Chair for the RiverCity chapter of Delta Waterfowl.  

If Don could offer one piece of advice to customers it would be to care for your items properly.  It is important to get the item as cold as possible as quickly as possible.  Apply the ice from the inside out to insure a complete chill.    

Billy Strate is a part-time taxidermist.  He mounted his first deer with his father at the age of 14.  He is self-taught with 22 years experience.  He worked for Barb Boshert from BJ Taxidermy for 2 years where he fine tuned his skills. He has also done freelance work for several out of town taxidermy shops.  
Billy is 37 years old.  He and his wife, Lori, have been together for 3 years.  They have a combined six children, Brittany (19), Monica (18), Samantha (17), Elizabeth (15), Jayson (12) and Rebecca (10).  

In his spare time Billy enjoys hunting and fishing.  He is dedicated to educating our youth about the outdoors and the sport of hunting.  He is currently the Youth Coordinator for the RiverCity chapter of Delta Waterfowl. 

If Billy could offer one piece of advice it would be to care for your items properly.  One of the hardest things to “fix” is Hunter’s error.  Take care of your item while getting to your vehicle.  How you transport your item can make a world of difference to how the final product will look.