$35 Lion Meat Tacos Cause Public Roar In Florida [VIDEO]

A restaurant in Florida has received bomb threats and its employees have been physically attacked because of the eatery's recent inclusion of lion meat on its menu.

"We're getting all kinds of threats over it," said Ryan Gougeon, owner of Taco Fusion in Tampa, in an interview with the Tampa Bay Tribune.

The restaurant is known for serving exotic meats including zebra, kangaroo and beaver, but this week's inclusion of lion on the menu has caused a public roar.

People have threatened the restaurant online as well as in person.

"Now we're getting bomb threats, and everything else. Some guy just called and said he'd kidnap me and grind me up for a taco. There are so many coming in we aren't counting."

Gougeon also said a person came into the restaurant and attacked the general manager.

A guy came in, took a swing at him and missed," he said on Thursday. "They had a brief wrestling match, but the guy ran for it. That was two hours ago. Some other guy just called saying he's on the way in now to fight us."

It is not illegal to sell or consume lion meat in the U.S., but the practice has numerous critics.

A new Facebook group called "Boycott Taco Fusion - South Tampa" posted on its page:

"Taco Fusion in South Tampa is selling Lion meat! An endangered species is being served with salsa for $35, heinous. Don't support Taco Fusion's disturbing ethics."

Luke Dollar, the grant program director at the Big Cats Initiative said, "While these aren't lions that have a realistic chance of roaming the African plains some day, the use of them for food animals has to be considered ethically questionable, "according to National Geographic.

Crawford Allen, an illegal wildlife trade expert from the World Wildlife Fund, told National Geographic that lions are farmed for meat to sell in U.S. restaurants.

"We have no evidence that lion trade in the U.S. is illegal," he said.

It is unusual to eat lion meat anywhere in the world, even on the cat's home continent Africa, where lion meat is not considered palatable, National Geographic reported. 

Despite threats, Taco Fusion reports it intends to keep serving lion meat.

The CNN blog "Eatocracy" reported that the restaurant's manager Brad Barnett said lion was put on the menu to offer customers the opportunity to try something different. Barnett offered his opinion to people who are upset with the uncommon menu item.

"If you don't like it, don't eat it," he said.