Giraffes chew their cud and have split hooves, so it is technically a kosher species. Thus, if it were slaughtered, deveined, and salted according to Jewish law, its meat would be kosher.

In practice, it does not seem that there is commercially available kosher giraffe meat. There is a persistent urban legend that this is because the giraffe’s neck is so long, leaving the shochet unsure of where to cut it. This, however, appears to be nothing more than a myth.

The real reason you do not see giraffe meat at your local kosher deli is for the same reason you do not see it at the non-kosher butcher next door: giraffe is not widely farmed, slaughtered, or sold anywhere.