The United States once came thisclose to importing tens of thousands of hippos. On March 24, 1910, Congressman Robert F Broussard stood before the House Committee on Agriculture to lay out the details of his “American Hippo Bill”. He believed importing the African herbivores would rid Louisiana and Florida of the invasive hyacinths smothering their waterways. When the beasts were good and fat (they weigh between 3,000 and 9,920 pounds), farmers could take their inventory to slaughter, revitalizing America’s low-cost meat stores. Proponents argued the African animals could add over a million tons of meat to the US food supply at a time when it was needed. But a worldwide force majeure intervened.
© 2024 John Oliver
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