Dog tucker
Posted 18 December 2007 // Basil Keane
Kuri (Polynesian Dog). Image: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Would you eat a dog?
Mark McGown, a British performance artist, did.
He ate a corgi as a protest against Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Philip, killing a fox.
Not something that New Zealanders would do?
Actually, you don’t have to search Te Ara too far to find examples of our canine companions on the menu. Our ‘Kurī’ entry (coming up in 2008) will show that before Europeans came to New Zealand, Māori raised kurī (dogs) for food.
Captain Cook ate one and said it was almost as nice as English lamb.
Te Ara’s entry on European Exploration tells of explorer Thomas Brunner being forced to eat his faithful dog, Rover, while exploring. This earned him the nickname ‘Kai Kurī’ (dog eater) from local Māori.
