Could I try the heart?

Beat this, Governor-General Anand Satyanand:

In a display that a European Union spokesman called “too bizarre to acknowledge”, Governor General Michaelle Jean gutted the seal and swallowed a slice of the mammal’s heart late on Monday.

Mrs Jean’s bold action came after an EU vote earlier this month to impose a ban on seal products on grounds that the seal hunt is cruel.

Hundreds of Inuit at a community festival gathered on Monday as Mrs Jean knelt above a pair of seal carcasses and used a traditional ulu blade to slice the meat off the skin. After cutting through the flesh, she turned to the woman beside her and asked: “Could I try the heart?”

After swallowing a piece whole and deeming it tasty, Mrs Jean, whose post is largely ceremonial, defended the hunt as a traditional hunting practice that is not inhumane.