More than 130 taxidermied animals in a South Dakota museum were found to contain arsenic. Nobody knows what to do with them

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The extensive collection of decades-old preserved animals at the Great Plains Zoo’s shuttered Delbridge Museum has been a source of drama since August, when tests on the aging specimens turned up various levels of arsenic – a carcinogenic chemical that was a common ingredient in animal preservation throughout much of the 20th century.

The museum was promptly shut down to the public, but debates about the fate of the animals rage on outside the silent menagerie’s closed doors. The city’s Facebook pages have been peppered with comments, from residents upset at being potentially exposed to arsenic to others urging the city not to destroy the taxidermy collection.

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At a press conference last month, Great Plains Zoo CEO Becky Dewitz said a recent examination of the museum’s taxidermy collection revealed that 79% of the specimens contained detectable levels of arsenic.