Community Corner

Lion Meat Pulled From Restaurant Following Public Uproar

First question—where do you even get lion meat?

Burlingame restaurant Mokutanya served lion meat last year, selling out of the special order in less than a week. So owner Jason Li decided to place another order from a supplier in Illinois, planning to offer a special of lion skewers at his Japanese restaurant on California Drive. 

But after a public uproar from animal rights activists, Li has taken lion off the menu. He told ABC San Francisco, "Some of them [sic] is really nice and peaceful like 'oh, can you stop selling lion meat?'" Li explained. "And some of them is like saying 'oh, I going to come in and rape you and kill you.'" 

While the number of lions in the wild has decreased by over 50 percent in the last two decades, it’s not listed as an endangered species which means it’s legal to consume in the United States. 

"Whether the lion was raised on a farm in Illinois or shot in the Serengeti and immediately put on ice and shipped to the United States, we think it sucks," Ken White of the Peninsula Humane Society told the San Mateo County Times. "These are animals that we need to treasure." 

The Illinois legislature is considering a bill that would ban the sale of lion meat in the state. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here