Economic Importance
In India, these lizards are caught for their meat, about which Malcolm Smith says ..with certain castes of Hindus it is a regular article of diet..the meat is said to be excellent and white like chicken...the head and feet are not eaten, but the tail is considered a great delicacy...the fat of the body is boiled down and the resulting oil is used as an embrocation and also as a cure for impotence.
The fat stored in the tail of the lizard is purported to have medicinal properties and for this reason, these lizards are often illegally collected and sold in various parts of India for folk medicine. It is kept in captivity by the cruel practice of dislocating the backbone.
Read more about this topic: Uromastyx Hardwickii
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