Australian Lawmaker: I Shot and Ate an Elephant — and I Liked It

Australian lawmakers sparred over elephant meat, and one of them said he liked eating it.

(GERMANY OUT) Tierpark Berlin Friedrichsfelde Berlin 20.05.2014  Bild-Motiv: Elefanten Kando und Kariba angeln sich saftiges Gruen aus dem Graben  (Photo by Olaf Wagner/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
(GERMANY OUT) Tierpark Berlin Friedrichsfelde Berlin 20.05.2014 Bild-Motiv: Elefanten Kando und Kariba angeln sich saftiges Gruen aus dem Graben (Photo by Olaf Wagner/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
(GERMANY OUT) Tierpark Berlin Friedrichsfelde Berlin 20.05.2014 Bild-Motiv: Elefanten Kando und Kariba angeln sich saftiges Gruen aus dem Graben (Photo by Olaf Wagner/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Australian lawmaker Robert Borsak is furious with animal rights groups he claims hold undue influence over national policies.

Australian lawmaker Robert Borsak is furious with animal rights groups he claims hold undue influence over national policies.

So during a late-night speech at state parliament Tuesday, he announced that not only has he shot and killed an elephant — he’s eaten one.  

“Yes I did, but it wasn’t in one sitting,” he said when asked by Greens party lawmaker Jeremy Buckingham whether he had sampled any of the dead elephants he’s posed next to for photos over the years. “It tastes like venison. There are parts of the head and the neck which we sliced and fried with a bit of butter — it’s very tasty.”

The elephant might have been a treat for Borsak on his Zimbabwean hunting trip a decade ago, but it didn’t sit so well with Buckingham.  

“It’s sick to shoot and kill an elephant for thrills, and it’s revolting that Mr. Borsak would eat the elephant,” Buckingham said. “He’s unfit for office.”

Borsak’s comments really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise: He belongs to a political party literally called the Shooters, Fishers, and Farmers. And the party had Borsak’s back after the little dispute: Its members circulated photos of Buckingham eating freshly hunted sausage at a parliament barbecue, and call him a “hypocrite.”

“Mr. Buckingham was more than happy to eat Mr. Borsak’s freshly hunted venison sausages at a NSW Parliament House BBQ raising money for Westmead Children’s Hospital in June 2013,” a spokesman for the party said Wednesday. “Mr. Buckingham happily went back for ‘seconds’ and ‘thirds.’”

Photo Credit: Olaf Wagner/ullstein bild via Getty Images

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