You Can't Buy The Meat That Was Once In One Of The World's Oldest Soups
NEWS
By TIM FORSTER
Historian Ian Crofton wrote in his book "A Curious History of Food and Drink" that archaeologists in the Middle East discovered soup with hippo bones dating to around 6,000 BCE.
The soup, which likely also included vegetables, lentils, and spices, appears to have been eaten in Mesopotamia, considered one of the earliest civilizations on earth.
Today, hippos are considered a threatened species. In 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced its intention to list hippos under the Endangered Species Act.
However, in 2025, a judge gave the Wildlife Service another three years to decide on the listing. Technically, hippo products like teeth and leather are legal, but hippo meat isn't.
Hippo meat is illegal, as it would be classed as "bushmeat," a category referring to wild animals. Such meats are banned from import into the U.S. to protect against disease.
