Cooking Host Stewed by Own Words

Animal rights activists are having a field day in Italy. On Wednesday, Beppe Bigazzi, a host to a morning show that gives food tips to people in Italy, said that he had eaten cat stew and then proceeded to defend his tastes.

The 77-year-old host of La Prova del Cuoco, Italy’s version of Ready Steady Cook, claimed that cat stew was a Tuscan specialty new the Amo River Valley and offered the recipe. “I’ve eaten it myself and it’s a lot better than many other animals,” he said.

The program’s presenter Elisa Isolardi tried to get Bigazzi off the subject of cat stew on air. Off air during commercials, the producers tried to convince him to apologize but were refused.

As a result, the head of ENPA, the Italian society for the protection of animals, and the Deupty Health Minister are severely criticizing the host. Cats are considered pets in Italy and therefore protected, making it illegal to even try to cook one, punishable by up to 18 months in prison.

As one may expect, RAI TV the station that hosts his program, has been assaulted by thousands of complaining websites and emails to Bigazzi’s comments.

While eating cats may have been accepted in Italy during hard economic times and it may be accepted in some eastern countries such as China, it isn’t in Italy and will definitely result in Bigazzi’s suspension, if animal rights groups don’t get him fired first for this.