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The exclusivity and beauty embodied by this bird have made it a rare and elitist species, reserved for the tables of high society throughout history.
Murdering this beautiful animal has long been considered taboo. In fact, in today’s era it still is in much of the world. But it has not always been so. Eating swan meat was an option available to royalty, the privileged few who could own them, as a status symbol dating back to the 10th century. There was even a British law that restricted swans as the exclusive property of the Royal Family.
Who can eat swan?
According to Architectural Digest, in 1247 King Henry III feasted on 40 swans at Christmas dinner. Its consumption became a tradition that continued in the sixteenth century as one of the favorite dishes that were part of the banquets of the courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.
That privilege was transformed and expanded to other fields, such as the cinematographic one. If you have had the opportunity to watch the FX Feud series ‘Capote vs. The Swans‘, you will have been able to follow Truman himself eating a real swan that his chef steals from Central Park to cook for him.
Its consumption is, therefore, so controversial because historically it has been considered a forbidden food reserved for the crown; and that, with the passage of time has been legalized in some states where it is allowed to hunt it: Alaska, Utah, Nevada, North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Idaho. Swan hunting is prohibited in many other states, including New York. In fact, it is also illegal in the United Kingdom, even now for the royal family, as the bird is considered a protected species.