The pigeon taboo is informal, but strong. They were originally associated with humans as food animals, but ask your average person if they'd eat one. I saw some at my local Asian grocer and was sorely tempted.
The reptile taboo is in Leviticus 11:29-31.
In India there are the cows (which are at least milked, so they're not entirely freeloading) not to mention the rats and monkeys. (Out of respect for Ganesh and Hanuman)
I can't think of any other example off the top of my head, though I am amazed that pigeons and Canada geese are not eaten in the cities of the world. In North America all native songbirds are protected by the migratory bird act treaty, so control of pest geese and other pest birds is complicated (but doable).
Then there's the case of locust plagues in the southwest--the settlers were starving when the locusts ate their crops, while the Indians simply ate the locusts. Likewise, in Jered Diamond's Collapse, he tells the story of the collapse of European colonies in Greenland, since they refused to live on fish and seals, as the native Greenlanders had.
no subject
The reptile taboo is in Leviticus 11:29-31.
In India there are the cows (which are at least milked, so they're not entirely freeloading) not to mention the rats and monkeys. (Out of respect for Ganesh and Hanuman)
I can't think of any other example off the top of my head, though I am amazed that pigeons and Canada geese are not eaten in the cities of the world. In North America all native songbirds are protected by the migratory bird act treaty, so control of pest geese and other pest birds is complicated (but doable).
Then there's the case of locust plagues in the southwest--the settlers were starving when the locusts ate their crops, while the Indians simply ate the locusts. Likewise, in Jered Diamond's Collapse, he tells the story of the collapse of European colonies in Greenland, since they refused to live on fish and seals, as the native Greenlanders had.