Another sets of examples is that of Christian missionaries in foreign lands and remote monasteries trying to get permission to stretch the rules about fasting d

Another sets of examples is that of Christian missionaries in foreign lands and remote monasteries trying to get permission to stretch the rules about fasting days to accommodate local wildlife. Beavers and capybara spend much of their time in and near water - can they be considered fish? How about turtles? Mollusks? How about a species of bird thought (at the time) to develop from a shellfish? Were land-going crabs meat, or seafood? Rules-lawyering for hungry holy men, trying to comply with strictures applied from a distance.