An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has taken exotic meat off the menu at a top London restaurant.
The virus, which has broken out regularly in Botswanan farms over the past two and a half years, has resulted in an embargo on the import of meat from sub-Saharan Africa, restaurateur Gerrie Knoetze said.
Mr Knoetze, manager of Vivat Bacchus in Farringdon, told London Live his South African dining destination has had to cut back on serving the country's national animal.
"Antelope and wild exotic meats are a big thing in South Africa," he said. "Initially we had a lot of springbok on the menu, which is the national animal.
"We've had to revert to stuff like kangaroo. It's ecologically a very friendly meat because it's a wild animal that has to be culled, [but] springbok is the ultimate product."
Defra confirmed imports of springbok had been blocked from Botswana since 2013, and a spokeswoman told the Standard quarantining areas where infectious disease had broken out was a routine safeguard.
"If there's a disease problem in those areas, we would stop food coming in from there," she said.
Mr Knoetze said his business was surviving, but would still like to see his signature dish back on the menu.
"I think we could have maybe grown more [as a restaurant] if we still had these meats available," he said, "so we're very keen to get them back."
