It’s not just Australia. Of the 195 countries recognised by the UN 29 eat their national animals. That’s a little under 15% or one in seven. Here’s the list.
- Bahamas – Blue Marlin
- Bangladesh – Hilsa (a type of fish)
- Bolivia – Alpaca
- Costa Rica – White-tailed Deer
- Denmark – Swan
- East Timor – Crocodile
- Eritrea – Camel
- Finland – Brown Bear, Whooper Swan, European Perch (they eat all three of their national animals)
- Japan – Green Pheasant
- Kuwait – Camel
- Macedonia – Ohrid Trout (My personal favourite fish name “I’d like some ‘orrid trout, please”)
- Maldives – Yellow-fin Tuna
- Monaco – European Rabbit
- Norway – Elk
- Pakistan – Mahasher (a type of fish)
- Phillipines – Carabao (a type of ox), Bangus (a type of fish)
- Saudia Arabia – Camel
- Singapore – Peascock Bass
- Spain – Bull
- Swaziland – Thomson’s Gazelle
- Sweden – Elk
Here’s a second list where I cannot confirm that the national animal is eaten but it seems an odds-on bet or where the eating of a particular national animal has been stopped because of the threat of extinction.
- Cambodia – Kouprey (a type of ox now hunted to near extinction)
- Honduras – White-tailed Deer
- Ireland – Red Deer (recently protected, I understand)
- Israel – Israeli Gazelle
- Jordan – Oryx
- Nambia – Oryx
- Poland – Wisent (a type of bison)
- Qatar – Oryx
When it comes to eating the animal emblems of sub-national regions such as states and provinces, the list gets very, very long.
Yup, Swedes eat their beloved elk – but not only that:
The hunting season seems to promote paternal parenting!
We have a full year of paid maternity / paternity leave, and have succeeded in increasing the proportion of those days used by the fathers. And, for some reason, there is a peak in paternal leave during the elk hunt..
But I think we should allow the reindeer to be a national animal too – it was here long before the elk, has been hearded by our aboriginal people from when the ice slowly retreated, and, of course:
WE EAT IT!!!