Uproar over lion meat in burgers

A RESTAURANT owner who put lion burgers on the menu in honour of the World Cup has felt a roar of anger from outraged animal rights activists.

Cameron Selogie, owner of the Il Vinaio restaurant in Mesa, served burgers made with African lion meat this week as a nod to the tournament.

Reservations sold out, with a waiting list 100 long.

But the burgers also attracted international attention and the scorn of animal rights activists, who picketed the restaurant. Selogie has even received death threats and is questioning whether the meat was fair game.

"I was led to believe they were not hunted, they were not shot, they were not abused," he said. "I feel I was misled by this." Serving African lion meat is perfectly legal, said Michael Herndon, a spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration. Game meat such as lion can be sold as long as the species isn't endangered, and the importation of African lion meat is not prohibited, although its Asiatic cousin is on the endangered list.

Selogie described the meat as tasting slightly "gamey", almost like beef jerky.

In South Africa, lion meat is shunned and animal welfare activists expressed shock at the burgers served in Phoenix. Mike Cadman, a wildlife research journalist based in Johannesburg, describes the eating of lion meat as a "bizarre craze".

Michele Pickover, spokeswoman for Animal Rights Africa, said she was concerned that an appetite for lion in the United States would increase poaching.