American Hippo bill

House Resolution 23261, also known as the "American Hippo bill", was a bill introduced by Representative Robert F. Broussard of Louisiana in 1910 to authorize the importation and release of hippopotamus into the bayous of the state.[1][2] Broussard argued the hippos would eat the invasive water hyacinth that was clogging the rivers and also produce meat to help solve the American meat predicament.[2][3] The chief collaborators and proponents of Broussard's bill were Major Frederick Russell Burnham and Captain Fritz Duquesne.[4][5] Former President Theodore Roosevelt backed the plan, as did the U.S. Department of Agriculture, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, which praised hippo meat as "lake cow bacon".[6][4] Although the "American Hippo Bill" developed a broad base of support, it was never passed by the US Congress.[2]

References
  1. Miller, Greg (20 December 2013). "The Crazy, Ingenious Plan to Bring Hippopotamus Ranching to America". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015.
  2. Mooallem, John (2013). American Hippopotamus. New York: The Atavist. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  3. Mooallem, Jon (10 August 2014). "Lake Bacon: The Story of The Man Who Wanted Us to Eat Mississippi Hippos". The Daily Beast. ISSN 0028-9604. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  4. Eplett, Layla (27 March 2014). "The hunger game meat: How hippos early invaded American cuisine". Scientific American. ISSN 0036-8733.
  5. Burnham, Frederick Russell (1944). Taking Chances. Los Angeles: Haynes Corp. pp. 11–23. ISBN 978-1-879356-32-0.
  6. "Lake Cow Bacon". The New York Times. 12 April 1910.


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