I don't know. I forgave Walter Potter's ugly taxidermy (some of them looked passable, others were downright horrifying) because he lived in a time where no one gave a shit. So long as it had fur in the right places, and eyes, it was an animal. Animals in clothes was probably considered really "wild" back then. I might have had a problem with him after seeing Herman Plouquet's work however. But now, I'm seeing taxidermy becoming somewhat popular, which could lead to people who never even considered it to become fans. Unfortunately for most of the anthropomorphic taxidermy I've looked at, a lot of the work looks bad when dried. I see a lot of mounts photographed fresh, especially mice. In a short space of time, its nose will shrink and everything else will too. A lot of people find these features distasteful, dead looking, but when faced with taxidermy of the quality seen in Europe some of them change their tune. I don't think taxidermists are feeling threatened by ammateurs teaching classes. The guild in the UK was set up in order to improve taxidermy as an art form and classes taught by people with less experience or skill can be seen as simply passing on mistakes to the next generation. I guess, so long as people are aware that the class is just for fun, then it's fine? I think it's important they know where to go if they want to learn modern techniques and create something more lifelike. You mentioned that there is no official school for taxidermy, but what the The UK Guild of Taxidermists has is an acreditation system so people have the option to select a tutor who has achieved the status of accredited, specialist and so on. I think that's pretty good to know about. They also have a themed competition so anthropomorphic stuff would definitely be welcomed for that.
I've never tried anthropomorphic taxidermy myself because I didn't like dried up looking animals. I decided that I wanted to make the most alive looking things I could, to keep the illusion of life. For me the fantasy ceases to exist if the animal looks wrong.
When I'm happy with my traditional taxidermy and am happy with my technique, I might allow myself to take things somewhere freaky. But until then, I will be trying to improve my skills in the art of taxidermy and study of nature. Maybe one day, several foxes later, my Red Riding Fox will be standing in my hall with her basket of mouse burgers.