An Argentine official has been suspended after he suggested early this week that the Córdoba provincial government was looking into feeding poor children with pigeon meat.
Oscar de Allende, the environmental director of Córdoba, had Argentines in arms after he said they were considering cooking up the birds as a part of the Integral Program of Assistance (Paicor).
“We are not thinking about that,” said the chief cabinet minister of Córdoba Oscar González, “We have never looked into using pigeons as a part of Paicor.” Paicor is a program which helps feed disadvantage school children.
On Tuesday Allende said the unique initiative was a good idea because of the invasion of pigeons in the region, he estimated about 600mn live in Córdoba.
“We need to change the concept that pigeons are a plague,” he said on Tuesday in an interview with Cadena 3, “They are an abundant resource not a plague. A plague signifies death but we should call them otherwise, they are full of protein.”
He insisted that pigeons are a healthy alternative and that in countries in Europe they are highly prized for their meat. Some pigeon dishes are, “very expensive and considered to be delicacies.”
After his comments there was an immediate backlash of protests forcing Allende to appear on television in which he denied there had ever been a proposal.
“There are no projects. I would like to make that very clear, it was just an idea,” he said on C5N Television.
Since then, numerous senor officials have come out stating the claim was false and that no such plans exist. Yesterday Córdoba Governor Jose Manuel de la Sota suspended Allende for “controversial statements on pigeon consumption.”
Despite all the controversy, Allende defended his proposal.
“I am not going to take back what I said, but the topic was poorly presented,” he said, “We’re not going out and hunting pigeons . . . It is an idea for future projects. We need to see what we can do to avoid wasting so many kilos of food.”
Facebook comments