Wild Hunger

In the third episode of the Animal Underworld series, Henry Rollins examines the roles that animals play as food, medicine, and drugs around the world. What makes some animals acceptable for consumption in some cultures but sacred or a beloved pet in another? In North Carolina, he tags along with people who make meals by salvaging road kill. In India, he meets men from the Irula tribe who hunt and milk snakes for venom that will be sold to produce antivenin. In Vietnam, he searches for a cure for his ailments by strolling through colorful and diverse markets where Traditional Chinese Medicine products (rare and endangered) abound. He then visits a sanctuary where young bears are recovering from the cruel practice of harvesting bile from their gallbladders. Afterwards he gains access to an operating bear bile farm and is disturbed by what he sees. He sets out to uncover some of the most extreme cases of animal consumption . . . and, more importantly, why these seemingly taboo subcultures ingest and inject what they do.