Page "Capybara" Paragraph 28

Capybara are farmed for meat and skins in South America.

The meat is considered unsuitable to eat in some areas, while in other areas it is considered an important source of protein.

During Lent, capybara meat is especially popular in parts of South America, especially in Venezuela, as the Catholic Church, in a special dispensation, is claimed to have allowed eating capybara meat when meat consumption was otherwise not allowed.

Accounts differ of how the dispensation arose.

Capybaras are occasionally kept as pets in the United States, though it is illegal in some states and in various other countries.