South Australians could be buying a couple of kilograms of horse meat along with their beef mince or pork chops as the government looks to review food regulations.
Changes to the Food Standard Code's definition of game meat are being considered, with the likes of horse, possum, camel, deer, donkey or buffalo set to be added to the list.
Possums could be included on the list of game meats to be sold for human consumption.Credit: Justin McManus
Current regulations define game meat as only goat, rabbit, hare, kangaroo, wallaby or birds that have not been confined and can be sold for human consumption.
Should the changes be accepted, it would be legal to slaughter and sell these animals in South Australia. Though horse and donkey meet is already exported, legally neither can be be sold for consumption in Australia under current laws.
Should the changes be accepted it will remain illegal to slaughter domesticated horses for human consumption in South Australia.Credit: Karleen Minney
Geoff Russell, the convenor of the Animal Justice Party South Australia, told Adelaide Now: "The newly proposed game industries are particularly obnoxious because they produce meats that people don't even like. This has been the case with the kangaroo industry for decades. They export just 4000 tonnes into markets with over a billion people."
Greens MLC Tammy Franks told the same source that the changes would be culturally challenging.
"This objection goes back to horses being a companion animal and the role horses have held in Australia," she said. "It is out of step with cultural expectations and it is controversial, the idea of eating horse here, in the UK and the US, and another issue is the health implications given the medications given to horses are not suitable for human consumption."
If the food regulation changes are agreed on, the new game meat animals could be sold by butchers by late 2017.
Eggs, foetuses and pouch young will still not be included in the list.
The proposed regulation changes are open for public consultation until February, with the government encouraging local councils and food businesses to contribute.
AAP