(ANSA) - Milan, August 6 - A shipment of a thousand kilograms of zebra meat has arrived at Milan's Expo as Zimbabwe prepares to offer about 10,000 zebra burgers to visitors at the world fair.
    After the popularity of the crocodile burgers it served earlier on in the six-month fair, Zimbabwe will now offer zebra burgers to try along with a traditional drink made from the Baobab fruit.
    "We are bringing a speciality to Expo that is already quite widespread around Europe but not in Italy," said Zimbabwe's consul general for northern Italy Georges El Badaoui.
    "We want to show how food culture changes in every country," he said.
    He said the meat comes from animals that are bred on farms, not from zebras hunted in their natural habitat. Zebra meat is lean and high in protein so it is popular among athletes. Its taste is often compared to horse meat. Zimbabwe also plans to surprise visitors to Expo with another exotic burger, called the "Safari burger", which is due to arrive at the world fair to mark the country's national day on August 31.
    No one working at the Zimbabwe post at Expo would reveal what type of meat will be in the "Safari burger".
    "We not scared of protests by animal rights activists," El Badaoui said. "We are expressing our culture, respecting other people's choices," he said.
    Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's delegation at Expo has made efforts to honour the memory of Cecil, the country's famous lion who was recently shot and killed by a U.S. dentist on a hunting trip. They have printed and distributed postcards of the lion with the words "Cecil We Will Miss You" on them.
    "In Zimbabwe we do have legal hunting but it is only for maintaining nature's balance," said El Badaoui. "You can't hunt protected species like Cecil and the government is very tough against poachers".