Spice Avenue’s menu recently offered kangaroo balti and now includes alligator jalfrezi. Plans for zebra curry are said to be in the pipeline. Kangaroo has temporarily been withdrawn from the menu due to a supply shortage and Viva! hopes the decision will be a permanent one.

Viva!’s five year campaign against the ‘exotic’ meat trade has already resulted in all the major supermarkets removing kangaroo and crocodile meat from their shelves. Local restaurants are now the main supporters of the trade.

"Kangaroos are shot in the wild by marksmen who have no proven ability to kill cleanly and swiftly," says local Viva! spokesperson Matt Stevens. "In fact we have footage from Australia showing animals shot through the neck or throat, a hind leg is sliced and a hook pushed through the gash. Fully conscious, they are hung upside down while their life-blood drains away. As for the unwanted joeys, they are stamped on, smashed against the wheel brace or left to die of starvation in the bush. The industry in indescribably cruel and completely unnecessary."

According to Dr Ian Gunn from the Animal Gene Storage & Resource Centre of Australia, his country's wildlife record is the worst in the world. Six kangaroo species have already become extinct and 17 are classed as endangered or vulnerable. The nine remaining abundant species are being killed in their millions each year.

For farmed alligators the future looks just as bleak. Stress, stereotypic behaviour and physical problems are rife. Alligators are purposefully crammed into small areas because research has shown that when overcrowded alligators recognise the futility of fighting for space.

"We have no hesitation in condemning the peddling of such misery" states Mr Stevens "and we know from our campaigns that the British public feel just as strongly. With 75 per cent of the world's species in decline or facing extinction it is essential we bring an end to the sale of all 'exotic' meats and encourage a morality in retailing. The Spice Avenue restaurant must know that their trade in wildlife is simply unacceptable."