PHOENIX, June 26 A restaurant owner who put lion burgers on the menu in honour of the World Cup has felt a roar of anger from outraged animal rights activists.

Cameron Selogie, owner of the Il Vinaio restaurant in Mesa, served burgers made with African lion this week as a nod to the tournament in South Africa. Reservations sold out, with a waiting list 100 long. But the burgers also attracted international attention and the scorn of animal rights activists, who picketed outside the restaurant. Selogie has even received some death threats.

And now Selogie himself is questioning whether the meat was fair game. “I was led to believe they were not hunted, they were not shot, they were not abused,” Selogie said. “I feel I was misled by this.”

Serving African lion meat is perfectly legal, said Michael Herndon, a spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration. Game meat such as lion can be sold as long as the species isn't endangered, and the CDC hasn't prohibited importation of African lion, although its Asiatic cousin is on the endangered list.

Selogie described the meat as tasting slightly “gamey,” almost like a savoury beef jerky. About 20 percent of Il Vinaio's patty is ground beef, because the lion meat was so lean, Selogie said.

Selogie purchased 10 pounds of ground lion meat — enough for 40 burgers — from Phoenix-based Gourmet Imports Wild Game, a distributor that Selogie has worked with before and found to be reputable.

In South Africa, lion meat is shunned and animal welfare activists expressed shock at the burgers served in Phoenix.

Mike Cadman, a wildlife research journalist based in Johannesburg, describes the eating of lion meat as a “bizarre craze” practiced by those who want to try it because it is not illegal. Ashley Byrne, a spokeswoman for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said most lion meat served in restaurants comes from old zoo and circus lions. Regardless of where Selogie's meat came from, the lions “suffered terrifying deaths,” Byrne said.—AP