Controversial restaurant that serves piranha sushi sparks outrage with new dish

17 December 2023 , 14:06

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Grilled crocodile leg on sale at the Chinju-ya in Yokohama, Japan (Image: Jam Press)

A restaurant slammed for serving up dishes of

such as killer whales and piranha sushi has added another meal to its controversial menu.

The venue, located in Yokohama, Japan, is not for the faint-hearted or animal lovers. Named Chinju-ya, the restaurant offers strangely-named nosh such as reindeer hot pots, squirrel chitatap, snow shark liver and aged brown bear.

The latest addition? Deep-fried axolotl. Chinju-ya claims to be the only place in the country serving meals of the amphibian. The Mexican axolotl is listed as critically endangered, with only 1,000 believed to exist in the wild.

Deep-fried axoloti (Jam Press)

Claiming to raise the animal in captivity, the restaurant has sparked outrage after sharing the news on social media, with a post gaining gained over 27,300 views so far. "Incredible! These animals are very loved and protected in Mexico,” said Nelson. Alexis wrote: "NO axolotls!!!" [sic]

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Another person added: "Eat me but the axolotls noooo. [sic] Don't kill axolotls, as Mexicans we know they are endangered and you kill them even though you have them in captivity, it's free No, it's a false freedom for them, please don't kill them," added Nessi. "Son of a b***h, don't mess with my friends the axolotls," wrote someone else. [sic]

Piranha sashimi (Jam Press)

A squirrel dish (Jam Press)

Last year, it emerged that the fins of endangered sharks are still on sale in UK restaurants. A Sunday Mirror probe found the dish on menus in London, Manchester and Liverpool, days after the Government pulled plans from the Queen’s speech which would have banned its sale.

To get the fins, fishermen cut them off a live shark, which they throw back into the sea to suffocate on the ocean floor. A quarter of shark species are threatened with extinction, driven mainly by a desire for shark fin soup – a status symbol in some east Asian regions such as Hong Kong.

Around 73 million sharks a year are killed for their fins, yet buying and selling it is still legal in the UK. TV’s Steve Backshall, of popular Sky show Shark, said the trade is “up there with rhino horn and ivory as the most senseless and wasteful of all”.

Ryan Fahey