Australian MP: I shot and ate an elephant - and I liked it

An African elephant. Photo / AP

Australian state MP Robert Borsak is furious with animal rights groups he claims hold undue influence over national policies.

So during a late-night speech at New South Wales state Parliament, he announced that not only has he shot and killed an elephant - he's eaten one.

"Yes I did, but it wasn't in one sitting," he said when asked by Greens Party MP Jeremy Buckingham whether he had sampled any of the dead elephants he's posed next to for photos over the years.

"It tastes like venison. There are parts of the head and the neck which we sliced and fried with a bit of butter - it's very tasty."

The elephant might have been a treat for Borsak on his Zimbabwean hunting trip a decade ago, but it didn't sit so well with Buckingham.

"It's sick to shoot and kill an elephant for thrills, and it's revolting that Mr Borsak would eat the elephant," Buckingham said. "He's unfit for office."

Borsak's comments really shouldn't come as much of a surprise: He belongs to a political party literally called the Shooters, Fishers, and Farmers.

And the party had Borsak's back after the little dispute: Its members circulated photos of Buckingham eating freshly hunted sausage at a Parliament barbecue, and call him a "hypocrite".

"Mr Buckingham was more than happy to eat Mr Borsak's freshly hunted venison sausages at a New South Wales Parliament House BBQ raising money for Westmead Children's Hospital in June 2013," a spokesman for the party said. "Mr Buckingham happily went back for 'seconds' and 'thirds.' "

- Foreign Policy