TAMPA, Fla. – A Tampa restaurant that created a stir by putting a lion meat taco on their menu has pulled the item.
WFTS-TV reported that Taco Fusion opened in February trying to build a reputation by using unconventional taco fillings. Until this week, patrons could order a $35 taco with lion meat.
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"I thought the lion was good," Lee Weiner said. "It didn't taste too gamey to me, similar to steak."
Owners of the restaurant told the Tampa TV station that they buy the mean from a vender that raises lion strictly for consumption. But some people felt lions should not be food.
"I really don't like that at all," said McKenzie Bremer, who opposed the restaurant's decision. "An animal that is almost on the extinct list should not be served at a taco place."
The restaurant has seen harsh reactions on social media, some going as far as making harmful threats.
"We have people who just sit on their couch and just want to go online and say things, be hurtful, make threats," said Taco Fusion's manager, Brad Barnett.
Jeff Kremer, with the Big Cat Rescue, questioned Taco Fusion's decision.
"There's a human healthcare concern, there is obviously an animal welfare concern and there is a bigger picture. The bigger concern is where do we, as society, draw the line for what is acceptable for moral and ethical behavior," Kremer said.
Barnett offered a simple solution to the controversy, "If you don't like it, don't eat it."
But hours after the story aired in Tampa, the restaurant yielded to pressure and pulled lion meat off their menu.