Plodprasop to review exotic meats on menu

[Guest guest]

THE BANGKOK POST Saturday 19 November 2005

 

Plodprasop to review exotic meats on menu steps back after harsh criticism

Preeyanat Phanayanggoor

 

Harsh public criticism has forced Plodprasop Suraswadi, the

flamboyant project director of the Chiang Mai Night Safari Park, to

step back from his proposal to put exotic wildlife meats on the menu

at a restaurant in the park.

 

Mr Plodprasop, who is also assistant to the minister of natural

resources and environment, yesterday promised to review the choice

of exotic meats to be served following a study.

 

He said the decision would be based on whether diners were interested

in eating the animals, whether or not the serving of some animal

meats would tarnish the image of the night safari, and whether Thai

society could accept the consumption of wild animal meats.

 

" I am open-minded and listening to all comments, particularly the

constructive ones such as those made by some youths after watching

zebra meat being served at one of the restaurants, but not the

protest by some animal activists who did it for publicity, " Mr

Plodprasop said.

 

The idea of serving exotic dishes made from wild animal meats such

as zebra, giraffe, crocodile and dog has attracted strong criticism

from all sectors of society.

 

Mr Plodprasop defended the exotic menu as nothing unusual as the

meats are served worldwide including in Kenya, which had a restaurant

called the Carnival offering similar exotic dishes.

 

A group of animal lovers yesterday handed a petition to Deputy Prime

Minister Suwat Liptapanlop to demand that the serving of the wildlife

meat buffet be halted inside the park.

 

Siri Wangboonkerd, a former Thai Rak Thai MP and chairman of an

animal conservation foundation, said offering wildlife meat would

project a negative image of Thailand in terms of animal conservation,

and particularly cruelty to dogs, which were considered man's most

loyal pets.

 

He said serving dog meat inside the night safari park would imply

that the government supported the idea of eating dogs despite its

earlier crackdown on dog slaughterhouses in Sakon Nakhon's Tha Rae

district.

 

" The offering of dog and other wild animal meats would also go

against the idea of zoos, which aim at promoting wildlife

conservation. It would also make young people look at these animals

as food rather than as being creatures that deserve love and care, "

Mr Siri said.

 

He warned that if the wild meat menu was still on offer inside the

park by New Year's Day, his foundation and other animal lovers and

groups would launch a nationwide campaign to urge the public not to

visit the night safari park.

 

Nida Nikornpan, a member of Save Our Strays group and a Chiang Mai

resident, said the exotic menu was a " humiliation to Chiang Mai

people and the country as a whole " .

 

" Don't we have enough pork, chicken and beef to eat? Why do you want

to eat dogs? Chiang Mai will soon be known worldwide for eating dogs

and wild animals instead of its culture and beautiful nature, " she

said.

 

----

 

The Guardian, UK Saturday November 19, 2005

 

Thai zoo's lion and elephant meat banquet angers Kenyans

Jeevan Vasagar in Nairobi

 

Kenyan conservationists reacted with anger yesterday to news that a Thai zoo

to which animals are being exported in a controversial deal is planning to

serve an exotic game buffet to VIP guests.

 

Guests at the opening of the Chiang Mai night safari zoo in northern

Thailand will tuck in to a menu featuring tiger, lion, elephant and giraffe.

Plodprasop Suraswadi, director of the zoo project, told reporters that

guests will pay 4,500 baht (£64) each for a meal in which dishes range from

locally reared dog meat to lion from Africa.

 

Kenya last week agreed to export over 100 wild animals to Thailand,

including zebra, flamingoes, buffalo, wildebeest and hyena, despite protests

by wildlife experts and Masai elders. None of the animals is from an

endangered species.

 

Richard Leakey, who headed the Kenya wildlife service between 1989 and 1994,

said: " Some of the large zoos do serve a useful role in education, but for

Kenyan animals to be sent there as a curtain-raiser for an institution that

is probably serving endangered species from south-east Asia is appalling.

 

" What this zoo is doing is serving bushmeat, and bushmeat is one of the

greatest conservation challenges of the 21st century. "

 

It is not clear whether any of the animals being transported from Kenya will

be slaughtered for the buffet. Slaughtering wildlife is illegal in Kenya,

and restaurants that serve game meat are restricted to selling farmed

crocodile or ostrich, though there is a flourishing illegal trade in

bushmeat.

 

There was speculation in the Kenyan media that Thailand had paid up to $1m

(about £583,000) for the animals but the Kenyan government said they were

being donated in exchange for technical help and training on wildlife

management.

 

Elizabeth Wamba, a spokeswoman in Kenya for the International Fund for

Animal Welfare, said: " This adds to our concern. They are going to be

serving African wildlife as part of the buffet, and we wonder whether the

wildlife that comes from here is being taken for breeding to satisfy this

demand. "

 

Wildlife groups were already concerned about the effect of transporting the

animals over 7,000km (4,350miles) to Asia, she said. " This is also a night

safari zoo, so you can imagine the problems that will cause for animals that

are not used to powerful, artificial lights. "

 

The wildlife transfer was confirmed last week during a three-day official

visit to Kenya by the Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who faced

protesters including women in traditional Masai dress.

 

---

 

--