Richmond's controversial beaver mural is coming down
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The mural in 2023. Image: Courtesy of Google Street View
The beaver is going away.
Why it matters: The "Feed Ur Beaver" mural on the front of a South Richmond sex shop sparked outrage, jokes and international attention when it went up more than a decade ago.
State of play: Jesse Smith, the artist behind the infamous mural of a young woman feeding a beaver, is painting over it with a new design, WTVR reports.
- The locally owned Taboo "adult novelties" store sold last year to Denver-based adult chain Romantix, and the new owners wanted fresh art and something " less controversial," Smith told the Times-Dispatch.
- The replacement? A woman playing with a cat using "a little feather toy."
- Smith is working with internationally acclaimed and Miami-based muralist Tatiana Suarez.
Flashback: When Smith's original mural went up on the 5100 Midlothian Turnpike shop, some locals were concerned that it would attract children to the adult store, which sparked angry calls and messages, per media reports at the time.
- While there's no indication it ever did, Smith said he regularly received hate messages over the mural throughout the past decade.
- "It was like international hate," Smith told the RTD. "For 10 years, we were getting little stabs of that."
What's next: The new mural is expected to be completed in August.