'Lion Meat Act' Proposed Again In Springfield

It's back!

You might think Illinois has bigger fish to fry (so to speak), but one legislator is determined to push forward a ban on the commercialization of lion meat in the state. This will be a third attempt by State Rep. Luis Arroya to pass the bill.

As Fox News reported the first time the bill was introduced, lion burgers are practically nonexistent on restaurant menus. Even so, the measure would establish penalties of up to one year in jail and a fine of $2,500 for offenders.

Why is Arroyo pushing so hard? He told CNN:

"The economy is not that bad that we have to eat lion’s meat. I have always considered lions to be in the zoo or the king of the jungle, not for consumption. Do we consume elephants too, where do we stop? I want to make it illegal to butcher or sell it because if you are in the jungle and you see a lion and he’s coming at you, you might as well shoot him because he might eat you, but we are not in the jungle, so I prefer not to consume them.”

Note Arroyo prefers not to consume them so he wishes to enact legislation that would prevent anyone else from doing so.

As Kristina Rasmussen at Illinois Policy points out:

If lion-meat consumption is truly a problem in Illinois, surely it can be solved by civil action, community consensus and open debate. Rushing in with a new law when the state has so many pressing policy problems is narrow-minded at best and an empty PR stunt at worst.

Filed Under: illinois, lion meat, luis arroyo

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‘Lion Meat Act’ Proposed Again In Springfield