Festive Flesh

Reading this about Capybara "The popularity of capybara meat in Venezuela is attributed to a 16th century theological decision by the Roman Catholic Church. Responding to queries by Venezuelan Catholics, the Church declared the capybara meat to be equivalent to fish meat, and thus allowed its consumption during Lent [1]. The decision may have been taken on the basis of incomplete or inaccurate descriptions of the capybara available to the Church authorities in Rome; but it was never reversed, and to this day the capybara is the only warm-blooded animal with that status. (This story should be treated with caution, however, since similar claims have been circulated concerning other semi-aquatic mammals, such as beavers and muskrats[2].)"