Cat meat is illegal in Italy
An Italian television chef has been suspended after he horrified animal lovers and TV station managers by praising the delights of cat meat during a show.
Bigazzi: suspended after cat comments (Pic: La Prova del Cuoco / Rai Uno)
Beppe Bigazzi enraged animal rights experts around the country when he gave advice on preparing ''tender, white cat meat'' in a portion of the programme usually reserved for advice about nutrition.
The 77-year-old is a co-presenter on Italy's version of Ready Steady Cook called La Prova del Cuoco (The Cooks' Challenge).
Previous guests have also included I'm A Celebrity... winner Italian-born chef Gino D'Campo.
During the show Mr Bigazzi said he had often eaten cat meat and found it ''tastier than other animals'', adding: ''I can assure you it's a delicacy, now I am going to get lots of letters.''
His remarks resulted in a deluge of calls to the switchboard of RAI TV's HQ in Rome, with thousands also complaining on websites and in letters.
Comments described him as ''completely mad'' and some demanded that he be fired for saying ''such a stupid thing'' on the popular lunchtime show.
Animal campaigners as well as politicians also reacted angrily.
"I was just trying to explain a saying from where I come from about the eating of cats. In the 30s and 40s they were very popular."Beppe Bigazzi
Italy's health under-secretary and vocal animal rights activist Francesca Martini slammed Mr Bigazzi's comments as ''offensive to the growing number of people who care about the way we treat animals".
She added that it was ''shameful'' for a state television employee to recommend a notion as ''despicable'' as eating cats on national TV and that killing and cooking cats was illegal under a 1991 law and punishable by up to 18 months in jail.
RAI TV deputy director Gianvito Lomaglio said he was suspending Mr Bigazzi until further notice and that he had also launched an investigation into the episode.
Mr Bigazzi, who has been on the show for more than ten years, said it had all been a ''misunderstanding'' and that he would be more than happy to explain to TV bosses what had happened.
He said: ''It's all a big mix-up. Once they see the video they will see that there is nothing untoward, it's just a misunderstanding and I don't really want to say anything else.''
Mr Bigazzi, who is from Tuscany and who has written several cook books, said: ''I was just trying to explain a saying from where I come from about the eating of cats. In the 30s and 40s they were very popular.''
According to a recent report, there are an estimated 44 million pets living in Italy, 7.5 million of them cats.
Despite their popularity, however, around 150,000 animals are abandoned each year by their owners and there are at least 73,000 annual reports of mistreatment or abuse.
Italy's Cats Protection League welcomed the fact that Mr Bigazzi was suspended ahead of today's World Cat Day.
No comments:
Post a Comment