Lion Meat: Exotic Or Immoral?
There was an uproar in Tampa, Fla., when local restaurant Taco Fusion added lion meat tacos to its menu of exotic foods. Lion meat, while unusual, is not an illegal food product. African lions are not endangered and therefore can be legally eaten; however, many people including conservation groups, politicians and regular consumers are not keen on the idea of consuming these animals. The lion, like most large cats, is a threatened species. There is concern that using lion meat for food will help speed the animal along a path to extinction as its habitat space continues to shrink.
However, Taco Fusion does not feel that it is in the wrong. No stranger to exotic foods, the restaurant receives its lion meat from a legal farm in the United States and serves other meats from animals like alligator, elk, bear, zebra and kangaroo. Undaunted by the threats its managers have received, Taco Fusion did not remove the $35 taco from its kitchen until it had completely sold out.
As for its response to the outrage caused by the unusual menu item, Taco Fusion stated that if people didn’t like it, they didn’t have to eat it and that they were simply expanding the general population’s limited meat choice. There was also cryptic warning for everyone to wait and see what they added to the menu next.
