Lion Meat

by Michael
(London, UK)

Lion meat is a hoax to drum up business. That is my opinion. Or is it? This is how I came to know about and track the lion meat story. But first I want to say that this story seems to have first appeared on 6/1/03 on http://www.usnews.com (see below). So this is a very old story that has been resurrected. I say resurrected because I received notification of lion meat in a Yahoo Group email. The email was a copy of an article on the Big Cat Rescue site. This is part of the email:

Would you be shocked to know that you can pick up your phone, call a 1-800 number and order a lion steak for dinner?

Unfortunately, it is legal in the United States to raise lions for human consumption. Several restaurants have included lion meat on their menus, much to the dismay of big cat lovers and animal activists alike.

The email provided a link to a forum, which in turn provided a link to the usnews.com site on which the author talks about exotic meat generally, such as Emu and ostrich. This is no doubt, real. The article then goes on to refer to lion meat:

“Customers like the game of exotic meat one-upmanship…and even lion. “Lion is the new big thing,” enthuses Greg Landry, co-owner of 888eatgame.com, a Florida-based mail-order firm. He claims the king of beasts tastes like veal. Landry’s lions are farm-raised in the United States, primarily for zoos or for use in photography and films. But some are sold for meat to help pay for breeding costs.”

I have taken the liberty to quote both extracts verbatim for feel and accuracy. If someone has a problem please tell me and I will act promptly.

Anyway the usnews.com story points to the 888eatgame.com website. This site is a mere link portal. A series of links to which a number of sites point. It is the home page for countless websites and there is no trace of Landry’s lion meat mail order business. I conclude it was designed to drive people to this shell of a website.

As to the Big Game Rescue article. That sounds true. The author urges to petition congress. The link at the bottom of the page simply returns us to the same page and therefore goes nowhere. This is a copy of the petition letter:

Our country is in desperate need of tougher laws regulating the breeding and possession of exotic animals, particularly exotic cats.

Unfortunately, lions breed well in captivity and are used in circus acts and pay-to-play schemes where you pay to pet a baby big cat or have your picture taken with one. Baby lions outgrow their usefulness as petting props by the time they are four months old, but lions have a life expectancy of 20 years in captivity. So, what happens next? These lions are often sold to canned hunts where they can be shot in their cage. Apparently, the others are being sent to the slaughterhouse and offered as an exotic meat delicacy.

Breeding, petting, killing and eating lions are inextricably intertwined. In order to protect the cats from the inhumane practices described above, we must first take action to stop the breeding of exotic cats in the United States.

Lion Meat – Conclusion

The 888eatgame.com site is not a “real” site. The Big Cat Rescue site is. The latter is real, the former not. But I don’t know how big this is. I think it is a very small issue but a a very bad one, if true. But lets remind ourselves that in China it is routine to eat tiger bones and tiger wine for health. These come from tiger farms. You can drink the wine while you are visiting the farms. In north Africa some people eat apes. Some people in the UK eat apes! It is nothing new ultimately. But for me it is all hideous. Others argue why not, what is the difference between lion meat and horse meat? We all know it is wrong no matter how well we rationalise what appears to be a sound argument.

From Lion meat to wild cat species

Comments for
Lion Meat

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Jun 15, 2011 re
by: Anonymous

Amazing article, thanks foe being informative! help make my essay


Mar 21, 2011 thanks
by: seo

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Mar 08, 2011 get your facts correct
by: Anonymous

Its not humans that put the African lion in danger, it disease and climate change.(i will post link at bottom) You want to jump on the soap box, rant about Siberian tigers, there’s less the 5k of them left. We adopted 2 last year, cats are ok- not hi on my list but i don’t want to see anything go extinct.(including penguins and polar bears) As far as eating them (lions) its not for me – but the lions that people eat are farm raised in Illinois, there is no POACHING of actual African lions involved” (i have to laugh here, i cant believe someone actually thinks that’s real or even true, its easier to smuggle a billion dollars worth of drugs into this country than 1 lion or tiger) and also sent to that big kitty cat heaven in the sky there as well. Its all painless for them. Same way they killed your last #3 meal deal from Mickey D’s or that 10 piece with 3 sides from Popeye’s. Ya know everthing you eat was wild at one time or another. Beside cross breading to make a “beefalow (cow & buffalo) or mule (donkey & hoarse”)we as humans don’t really have a say. Sad to say but true we will probably be responsible for our own extinction in the end- so be it.

We are all victims to evolution like it or not, “We have no choice or say in the matter whatsoever- change and growth inevitable”

But on the subject matter, you can buy lion, ostrich, iguana, rattle snake, any thing your heart desires on the internet- canned. Ya know its really pretty gross the way they kill the lions but it is painless. They walk them into a refrigerated truck trailer and then shoot a bolt the size of my thumb into the forehead of the animal, same way cows, horses, goats. lamas and everything else is “retired” and the they freeze them and ship them up to the stock yards where they get butchered on 39th and halsted (the old stock yards of chicago) i live close i know. I talked to a guy, its a dog food factory. Any thing that comes through the door goes into the dog food. All the parts of an animal that they cant sell they give to this company for processing. Yea, well- the dog food company gets filler by-product, the other company dosent have to pay to get rid of their waste. Its a WIN – WIN situation for everyone. The parts of the big cat that cant be sold as a consumer edible product get ground up and fed to your pets (or in worst case senior citizens<--but no one cares about them anymore anyway, if they did they wouldn't be eating cat food)


Dec 27, 2010 Let them eat… buffalo?
by: Mike

The idea that people eating these endangered animals being the cause for their dwindling numbers is exaggerated.

At the turn of the century (1900) there were but 1500 Bison left in North America. Today, there are 500,000. The primary reason is to farm them. If you want to see endangered species have their populations grow, allow private citizens to breed them for a profit and ensure that they stay around.

If breeding lions for exotic steak can help, don’t let your emotional love of lions get in the way of the fact that if they were not being bred for food, many of them would simply not be around.


Nov 20, 2010 Don’t mind these aholes who make jokes on your post
by: Guy from Tpa FL

I think the idea of Lion meat or any wild game like this is hideous…

Personally I eat meat, but I stick to the norm. Turkey, Chicken, beef, fish etc… I don’t think there is any reason for us to go out of that spectrum and start eating other animals just because we can. Human’s tend to act like a virus on this planet.Consuming all resources mostly because we can.

Hell, sometimes I even feel bad eating beef…

Just my 2 cents…


Mar 22, 2010 food
by: general chrome dome

i use to say death to all cats now let them live on as food


Nov 22, 2009 Last comment
by: Anonymous

amishrobots – you have a robot’s mind – dead. I know you are being deliberately provocative and if not…


Nov 19, 2009 sounds delicious
by: amishrobots

does anyone know where i can order these lion steaks?


Apr 11, 2009 Carole Baskin
by: Michael

Hi Carole. Thank you for the comments and clarifying the matter. It is much appreciated, really. I am an admirer of yours.


Apr 11, 2009 Lions on the menu is real
by: Carole Baskin

Tim Santel, resident agent in charge of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s law enforcement office in Springfield, Ill., was named Officer of the Year in 2004 for his lengthy undercover investigation of the illegal killing of endangered species, specifically tigers, leopards, snow leopards and the commercialization of their meat, hides and other body parts. The investigation, dubbed ?Operation Snow Plow,? lasted more than six years, covered more than six states and resulted in the conviction of all 17 defendants (16 individuals and one business) charged with violating several federal wildlife protection laws. Combined, the defendants? sentences have resulted in 80 months in federal prison, 52 months home detention, 2,200 hours of community service, $75,000 in fines and $226,000 in restitution to the Fish and Wildlife Federation’s Save the Tiger Fund. One of the convictions was that of a well-known “sanctuary” in MO that was selling their ?rescued? lions to be served in restaurants. More here:
bigcatrescue.org/000news/0articlesbybcr/2008ManEatingLions.htm


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