are
taking no chances. This is leading to a great increase
in the consumption of other meat, such as beef and goat.
Perhaps goat tikka, usually a very little consumed item
on the menu, will become more popular if the virus doesn’t
show any signs of abating. In the meantime, the chickens,
when they aren’t dying, might be enjoying ruling
the roost, so to speak, strutting around the farmyard
and making fun of all the other animals that are going
to get the chop while they manage to get sick leave
and snuggle in bed with a cup of hot vegetable soup
and a magazine to pass the time.
The government is busy denying
that the bird flu is dangerous, and a recent newspaper
headline stated that the virus had been contained and
was even receding in Karachi. Heaven forbid that our
government and newspapers should lie to us, but it’s
not so hard to envision the day when poultry farms are
inhabited by other animals. However, the most cheap
and easily available animals are out of the question:
street cats don’t make good tikka and all our
stray dogs have already been exported to Korea, so we
will have to go for more exotic animals: Bangladeshi
parrots and mynahs, monkeys, and rabbits come to mind.
Or Pakistanis could align their tastes with the English
elite and start eating other birds, such as duck, goose,
pheasant, and turkey, if they simply must consume large
animals with wings and feathers.
|
