How would you like your Donkey Meat cooked?

The first time I went shopping by myself at the supermarket here, I was browsing through the meat department and I saw something marked Donkey meat! Wha? What?

Now when I went on safari to Africa in 1979 I was a strict vegetarian. That was easy. No meat. Period. Today I am just a recreational vegetarian which means I will eat meat occasionally but mostly refrain. I am just not religious about it. I do remember on safari they served some bizarre things which at the time I was happy to have an excuse not to eat like ostrich (I have since had ostrich and it is very good) and zebra (still no) but donkey meat? I brought it over to the butcher and questioned it. "Is this for real?" I asked. "No" she laughed, "it is a practical joke for April Fools' Day."

Apparently just before I arrived, there had been a donkey meat scare. The SA Department of Agriculture had found traces of horse or donkey meat in some beef mince somewhere and there was a big country-wide meat recall because of this. I was actually relieved to know that a) there was a Department of Agriculture who checks such things, 2) that they took such drastic measures when they found a sample contaminated, and C) they have such a great sense of humor about it!

But maybe it's time for this fool to go back to being a strict vegetarian.