Zebra Stew

The weirdness in Thailand continues. At the Chiang Mai Night Safari Park, an “exotic” new restaurant will be opening soon. Among the menu offerings will be imported zebra and giraffe meat from Africa, crocodile, snake, mongoose blood, dog meat (only the finest domestic cuts), and a variety of insects.

Plodprasop Suraswadi, an assistant Natural Resources and Environment Minister, acknowledged that the restaurant's theme was an "odd idea" but defended the operation after criticism from animal rights groups. "I welcome the girls stripping off to protest, so I will take off mine," said an obviously confused Plodprasop. "People could disagree with the idea, but don't block me. Don't prohibit tourists who like this cuisine, because this is marketing."

Ah yes, marketing. The perfect justification for everything.

In yet another bizarre twist to this story, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was in Kenya last week, where he signed an agreement to export Kenyan wildlife to zoos in Thailand. Naturally, this has raised eyebrows after news of the "Predator" restaurant opening.

"We need to verify the truth about this buffet," said a spokesperson with Kenya Wildlife Service. "If it's true, the government needs to rethink about sending animals to Thailand."