Vulture brains eaten for World Cup success

Submitted on Wed, 2010-01-20 04:00With the World Cup taking place in June, football fans from across the world will be placing bets on their country’s team and hoping for success in the tournament. Many fans will have their own predictions about who will taste success, but gamblers in Africa are taking things to extremes with one popular practice.

Superstitious gamblers in some parts of Africa are known to eat the brains of vultures as a way of gaining an upper hand when it comes to placing a bet. Tradition says that by consuming a vulture’s brain, people are able to see into the future which allows them to increase their chances of success when betting at sporting events.

The brains are traditionally smoked in a rolled-up cigarette, and the practice could see a spike in demand seeing as the World Cup is going to be held on African soil for the first time. This has led some experts to denounce the practice, stating that it could lead to the extinction of vultures in Southern Africa within a few decades.

The belief is based on the incredible vision of the vulture and its ability to find food. It is widespread in both

South Africa and

Tanzania, and it is here that the biggest problems are likely to arise. Whereas the first World Cup in Africa is a huge success story for the continent, it is hoped that negative practices like this do not spoil what is sure to be a fantastic event.

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