Lion Burger Debate Rages in the US

We have seen everything in terms of culinary practices. After biltong sticks made of antelope in South Africa (that actually contained giraffe meat) and Chinese rat- and fox-based dishes, this time it is lion burgers that have led to debate in the United States. Two factions are fighting each other, The Guardian reports, “at one pole, rage about the unsound ethics of eating the ‘king of the jungle’; at the other, excitement about quaffing the big cat’s flesh.”

One of the first cases of this type of dish emerged across the Atlantic in 2010, when a restaurant in Arizona served lion hamburgers in honor of the South African soccer World Cup. This act incited controversy, while also drawing in new clients eager to try the new meat. Since then, lion meat has also found itself in Californian skewers and in certain tacos in Florida (sold for $35 each), explained a National Geographic article. This practice has grown to the point where an Illinois representative wants to ban lion meat in his state.

Selling and consuming lion meat is authorized in the U.S. today, in the same way other game meat is, explains The Guardian. The African lion is actually not on the red list of endangered species. Instead, it is classified as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. In a single century, the African lion population has been dramatically reduced, going from 200,000 to less than 30,000 today.

Where do the lions that end up as steak come from? They are animals that have been brought up in captivity, said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration when questioned by a British newspaper. Originating in zoos or circuses, they can end up in slaughterhouses or processing plants that take their meat, while the exotic meat industry achieves more and more success.

But with an industry that is as niche as it is unknown, it remains difficult to ascertain the origin of this meat — which is not as endangered as that of tigers, for example — and to know how the lions are killed. In addition, the long-term risk threatening the species is increased by making the meat fashionable and thus creating demand, as was the case with Japanese whale meat for instance. Therefore, some groups argue that the farming of lions that prosper in Africa in order to sell the animals as trophies or to make powder from their bones stimulates demand and thus encourages poaching.