Sweden: Protests over riding club horsemeat meal

While not widely consumed in the US or UK, horsemeat is found on many menus in mainland Europe

A Swedish university riding club has faced protests for dining on horsemeat during its summer party.

Almost 1,000 people signed an online petition after riders from Linkoping University in southern Sweden gathered at a local restaurant which prides itself on its horsemeat offerings, the NT newspaper website reports. The petition asked people to denounce the restaurant, called De Klomp, for slaughtering horses for their meat. The riding club's treasurer Frida Dagsgard says the idea "started as a joke", and that she didn't anticipate the the online backlash. Now she's hoping the episode could help to break down some of the taboos surrounding horsemeat.

As in many European countries, tucking into a horsemeat meal isn't particularly unusual in Sweden. After the 2013 horsemeat scandal, demand for the meat among Swedes reportedly went up. The De Klomp restaurant has horsemeat on its menu all year round, and its owner says he welcomes "the fuss" caused by the riding club's visit. "I want more people to talk about meat production and not wasting food," Take Aanstoot tells The Local website, adding that waste is caused by people thinking "things are too cute to eat".

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