While researching gophers for the game my business partner and I are making, I came across the Wikipedia entry for the capybara, which is a very, very large rodent - kind of looks like a really big cross between a gopher and a pig, and weighs upwards of a hundred pounds. I encourage at least looking at the pictures in the article below because the rest of this will be funnier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara
The following is a quote from the article:
"Venezulean farmers who once considered the animal a pest now make a valuable addition to their incomes by selling capybara meat (approximately 400 metric tons annually). The rodents are rounded up in February so that they can be slaughtered and sold just before the onset of Lent, when the meat is in high demand. This popular custom is attributed to a curious theological decision by the Catholic Church that classifies Capybara as fish.
"When European missionaries first met capybaras in South America during the 16th century, they wrote to Rome for guidance, saying "there is an animal here that is scaly but also hairy, and spends time in the water but occasionally comes on land; can we classify it as a fish?" The question was significant, as the Catholic faith forbides eating meat (other than fish) during Lent, the period of abstinence lasting 40 days before Easter. Having a second-hand description of the animal, and not wanting the petitioners to turn away from Catholicism, the Church agreed and declared the capybara a fish — a decision that was never reversed."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capybara
The following is a quote from the article:
"Venezulean farmers who once considered the animal a pest now make a valuable addition to their incomes by selling capybara meat (approximately 400 metric tons annually). The rodents are rounded up in February so that they can be slaughtered and sold just before the onset of Lent, when the meat is in high demand. This popular custom is attributed to a curious theological decision by the Catholic Church that classifies Capybara as fish.
"When European missionaries first met capybaras in South America during the 16th century, they wrote to Rome for guidance, saying "there is an animal here that is scaly but also hairy, and spends time in the water but occasionally comes on land; can we classify it as a fish?" The question was significant, as the Catholic faith forbides eating meat (other than fish) during Lent, the period of abstinence lasting 40 days before Easter. Having a second-hand description of the animal, and not wanting the petitioners to turn away from Catholicism, the Church agreed and declared the capybara a fish — a decision that was never reversed."
