Horse meat gained widespread acceptance in French cuisine during the later years of the Second French Empire. The high cost of living in Paris prevented many working-class citizens from buying meat such as pork or beef, so in 1866, the French government legalized the eating of horse meat, and the first butcher's shop specializing in horse meat opened in eastern Paris, providing quality meat at lower prices. During the Siege of Paris (1870–1871), horse meat, along with the meat from donkeys and mules, was eaten by anyone who could afford it, partly because of a shortage of fresh meat in the blockaded
Horse meat such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, the United States, and English Canada. It is also taboo in Brazil, Israel, and among the Romani people and Jewish people the world over. Horse meat is not generally eaten in Spain, except in the north, although the country exports horses both live animals and slaughtered meat for the French and Italian markets. Horse meat is consumed in some North American and Latin American countries, and is illegal in some countries. For example, the Food Standards Code of Australia and New Zealand definition of 'meat' does not include horse. In Tonga, horse meat