Hello. I have a mink that was finished last year that I want to tan. It has been hanging in my basement for a year now. I kept thinking I would do it myself and never got around to it. Basement has two dehumidifiers. Skin looks fine and just like the day I hung it (it has been off the steel stretcher for a year). I have heard of "stale" fur. So any problem with having it professionally tanned? Thank you for your time.

No

Tannerys have processes that can deal with grease burn/stale to a certain extent.
The leather may be weaker than a fresh pelt.
For a wall hanger it will be fine.
If you want to sew with it use alcohol to block it out instead of warm water.

Yes. Grease burnt fur.( One that is soaked in its own rancid oil) will often come back from the tannery with rock hard, brittle spots that didn't take the tan and will crack easily. They are pretty much useless for anything except a poor wallhanger then.

I still get a tan on my arms every summer.

I would check it to see if the bugs got to it. I have no clue where they come from, but from what I have seen the get into fur that is left out over time.

Not to high jack your thread, but would a pelt stored in the freezer for a couple of years still be okay to tan?

In my opinion, a stretched and dried pelt that has been in a freezer for a couple of years is definitely ok to tan. I would tan it in a heart beat.

If it is a green pelt that just skinned and rolled and frozen - might be a bit different, depends on the amount of freezer burn. Heads and tails freezer burn first.