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A Lenten Menu Option: Capybara

EnolaGaia

EnolaGaia

I knew the job was dangerous when I took it ...
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It appears this concession allowing capybaras to be eaten during Lent because they're recognized by the church as "fish" (for dietary purposes) is true.
Good news everyone observing Lent: Capybaras are considered fish

In the 1500s, the Catholic Church classified the capybara as a fish, so its meat could be eaten on Fridays in lent. If you’re not familiar with the capybara, it is the largest rodent in the world and certainly not a fish.

The capybara is actually classified as a rodent and has visually been described as a beaver without a tail. It has no gills, and it has no fins. In fact, some people have described it as a water pig as they spend most of the time in the water eating plants and grasses.

The capybara does have the ability to stay underwater for up to five minutes to hide from predators, and it does have webbed feet, which is probably the closest thing you can get towards a status like a fish. ...

Sometime in the 1500s to 1700s, Venezuelan clergymen asked the Vatican to make a special exception. When they found a capybara lived in water and had the web feet and even tasted like fish, they felt that it might be an interesting option. The Catholic Church wrote back and even agreed to make an exception and classify the capybara not as a giant aquatic rodent but instead as a fish. ...
Click to expand...
FULL STORY: https://famadillo.com/did-you-know-catholics-considered-capybara-fish-for-lent/

See Also: https://blogs.scientificamerican.co...tholic-church-decided-that-beavers-were-fish/
 
To be fair, I doubt modern concepts of taxonomy existed back then... and probably whales were also regarded as fish.
 
The fish classification is for the purpose of dietary law only, and not really about the taxonomy. In a similar vein, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that - for jurisdictional purposes - Long Island is a peninsula of New York State, not an island.

I wonder if the Church's capybara and beaver rulings were universal and long lasting, or just "special dispensation" for the times and places the requests were made.

The whole thing about allowing fish when meat is banned is a little silly anyway. Fish was once considered a humble poor man's food, so okay in times of sacrifice. That's not really the case today.
 
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