A dangerous fashion: in Thailand, elephant meat is becoming the star dish of almost all restaurants in the country. It seems that as with the pig, the elephant takes advantage of absolutely everything, from the trunk to the genital organs. No, it's not a joke, quite the opposite, a practice that threatens the survival of the species.
Faced with the irresistible increase in demand, poachers increasingly enter protected natural areas hunting these large pachyderms and taking your tubes and genitals, the two most appreciated parts. All this meat is intended for human consumption. Before these hunters, much less numerous and daring, they simply took the tusks of the males to sell the ivory for thousands of dollars on the black market. Now the change in fashion has imposed its cruel dictatorship.
"If they keep hunting elephants for that, they will become extinct" say the Thai authorities. The truth is consumption of elephant meat has never been common in ThailandBut some cultures in Asia believe that eating the reproductive organs of animals can stimulate sexual potency.
Much of this meat ends up in upscale restaurants in Phuket, where the elephant sashimi, a Japanese culinary-inspired dish in which the meat of this animal is served raw. Elephant meat continues to be cooked and served despite increasingly frequent and strict controls by the country's authorities.
You have to remember that in Thailand elephant hunting is illegal, and the trafficking and possession of animal parts are also prohibited.
More information: Thailand and the elephants
Source: Associated Press
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