Illinois is suffering from its worst budget ever, according to Gov. Pat Quinn. It’s got a $97 billion pension crisis to solve with no respite in sight. So if Illinois has such massive budget issues, why is one lawmaker there so concerned with banning lion meat?
State Rep. Luis Arroyo recently proposed a bill to ban any sale of lion meat in the state. Apparently it’s a pressing issue since he’s found not one but two places selling the product.
HB 2991, also known as “The Lion Meat Act,” would be the first ban of its kind in the U.S. Under this bill, if you’re caught with lion meat or with possessing and/or selling a lion for the purpose of slaughtering it — you could face up to a year in jail or a fine of up to $2,500.
So should lion meat be banned?
As of now the king of the jungle isn’t on the endangered species list. That could soon change, however. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced late last year that it is considering putting African lions on the list.
Even though it’s technically legal to consume, for now, those who’ve put the delicacy on their menus have faced severe backlash.
According to the Daily Mail, Illinois-based shop owner Richard Czimer went to jail for six months for having sold a “lion meat” labeled product that turned out to be made of ground tiger meat, mountain lion meat and liger meat.
You have to wonder — just because groups of people are morally opposed to something, does that mean it should be made illegal? And, in light of the much larger issues at hand for Illinois, is this really the best war to wage for the state at this time?