[danielf]

Originally Posted by Matt D

I went to Peru in 2003, and it was rather strange (for me) seeing roast guinea pigs being served up on spits... I also remember seeing cages and cages of them at the bus station in Cusco, and thinking "they're not heading for pet shops..."

I couldn't bring myself to try guinea pig. The only "funny" animal I tried over there was alpaca (a sort of llama type animal), but that's nothing like trying an animal normally considered a pet in your own country.

Still, as others have probably said (I haven't read the rest of the thread yet), it's a cultural thing.