Plodprasop Suraswadi, vice minister for natural resources and the environment, said rare animal meat as well as other unusual fare like grasshoppers and insect eggs would be on the menu at the Chiang Mai Night Safari.

The zoo will officially open New Year's Day and will feature five restaurants, including the Vareekunchorn where diners can have a taste of the exotic.

But the plans have left a bad taste in the mouths of conservationists, who say they give the impression that Thailand condones the trade in and consumption of endangered wildlife.

"The idea will set the country's image back a century, because nowadays zoos around the world aim to educate and conserve," Wildlife Fund Thailand secretary Surapol Duangkae was quoted as saying by The Nation newspaper.

Plodprasop, who is in charge of the project, defended the menu, saying nothing that ended up on the dinner table would come from endangered or protected animals.

"I am not afraid of criticism as we have done everything legally," he said.

Prime Minister Thanksin Shinawatra, who is from the same region in Chiang Mai as where the zoo is located, visited the site Wednesday with dozens of business leaders.

Last week Thanksin was in Kenya, where the government confirmed it would give 175 wild animals and birds to Thailand despite protests from wildlife activists and conservationists.

Kenya said none of the animals were endangered species.

The animals, including zebras, flamingos, African buffaloes, hippos, spotted hyenas, silver-back jackals and impalas, will be taken to the new Chiang Mai zoo, officials have said.

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