Restaurant pulls 'Lion Tacos' following customer threats

A Florida restaurant turned tail in the face of complaints and threats from customers and stopped the sale of tacos made with lion meat, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Friday.

"Some of you were supportive, some of you were angry. We listened to everyone and decided to no longer carry lion," said the restaurant, Taco Fusion, in a statement. "The lion meat is sold out and we do not plan to carry it again. Thank you all for your feedback."

The brief statement was a reversal of course from a post earlier this week on its website.

"If you are crying out in the name of diversity, in the name of freedom, in the name of rescuing a Lion, then why don't you cry out for Cows?" the earlier post said. "Who decides which animals are worthy? If the argument is that a Lion is 'Majestic' so you shouldn't breed them for meat consumption- then what is the lesson here That only the majestic pretty girls get treated well and the ugly ones go to the slaughter pen? How pompous and idiotic does that sound?"

Before pulling the $35 tacos, Brad Barrett, who manages the Tampa restaurant, told ABC News his employees had already gotten physical threats.

"[People said] they're going to bomb us, burn us down, blow us up," Barrett said. "Just silly, ridiculous statements."

The lion tacos, which went on the menu on May 2, were part of a variety of exotic fare, including tacos made from shark, ostrich and bison meat. Though lions are an endangered species, U.S. laws do not ban eating and selling their meat. Barrett said each pound of lion meat cost Taco Fusion $220.

Watch ABC News' report on Taco Fusion's "Safari Menu," aired Saturday, below.

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