Defend My Faith

Clean and Unclean Animal List and Unclean Ingredients List

On this page you will find a list of clean and unclean animals as well as a list of unclean ingredients. 

Clean Animals

This is a list of the animals that God made for us to eat. Clean animals were also the animals that God allowed to be sacrificed in the temple.

Clean Land Animals

Antelope

Bison (Buffalo)

Caribou

Cattle (Beef, Veal)

Deer (Venison)

Elk

Gazelle

Giraffe

Goat

Hart

Ibex

Moose

Ox

Reindeer

Sheep (Lamb,

Mutton

 

Clean Birds

Chicken

Dove

Duck*

Goose

Grouse

Guinea fowl

Partridge

Peafowl

Pigeon

Prairie Chicken

Ptarmigan

Quail

Sparrow (as well as other songbirds)

Swan#

Teal

Turkey

* There has been controversy as to whether a duck is clean or unclean. In the past, some have assumed that ducks were unclean because swan is mentioned as an unclean bird in the KJV of the Bible. Ducks belong to the same class of animals as the swan. The note below this one explains why swan is a mistranslation in the KJV. After doing research, the duck belongs to the same family of clean animals as the Swan. Ducks anatomically have a crop, gizzard, and a stomach. They eat grass as well as bugs/insects. They are omnivores, much like chickens and turkeys. The unclean birds (listed below) are scavengers and hunters.

# In the King James Version, Leviticus 11:18 and Deuteronomy 14:16 list “swan” among unclean birds. This appears to be a mistranslation because Strong’s Concordance and Brown-Drivers- Briggs’ concordance list this as some sort of lizard or owl. Most modern Bibles translate it as a lizard or owl.

Clean Insects*

Crickets – Grasshoppers – Locusts

*A Beetle is mentioned as a clean insect in Leviticus 11:22 in the KJV. It should be translated as a wingless locust.

Clean Fish

Anchovy

Barracuda

Bass

Black Pomfret

Bluefish

Bluegill

Carp

Cod

Crappie

Drum

Flounder

Grouper

Grunt

Haddock

Hake

Halibut

Hardhead

Herring

Kingfish

Mackerel

Mahimahi  (Dorado, Dolphinfish
[not the mammal dolphin])

Minnow

Mullet

Perch

Pike

Pollack

Rockfish

Salmon

Sardine

Shad

Silver Hake (Whiting)

Smelt (Frost or Ice Fish)

Snapper

Sole

Steelhead

Sucker

Sunfish

Tarpon

Trout

Tuna

Turbot (except the European turbot)

Whitefish

Whiting (Silver Hake)

Unclean Animals

This is a list of the animals that God did not make to eat. These animals will make you spiritually and morally unclean if you eat them or touch their dead bodies. This uncleanness will last until you wash with water and sunset arrives.

Unclean Land Animals

Armadillo

Badger

Bear

Beaver

Boar

Camel

Cat

Cheetah

Coyote

Dog

Donkey

Elephant

Fox

Gorilla

Groundhog

Hare

Hippopotamus

Horse

Hyena

Jackal

Kangaroo

Leopard

Lion

Llama (alpaca, vicuña)

Mole

Monkey

Mouse

Mule

Muskrat

Onager

Opossum

Panther

Peccary

Pig (hog, bacon, ham, lard, pork, many sausages and pepperonis)

Porcupine

Rabbit

Raccoon

Rat

Rhinoceros

Skunk

Slug

Snail (escargot)

Squirrel

Tiger

Wallaby

Weasel

Wolf

Wolverine

Worm

Zebra (quagga)

Unclean Insects

Flying insects that do not have jointed legs for hopping, such as bees and hornets

Unclean Birds

(continued on the next page)

Albatross

Bat

Bittern

Buzzard

Condor

Coot

Cormorant

Crane

Crow

Cuckoo

Eagle

Flamingo

Grebe

Grosbeak

Gull

Hawk

Heron

Kite

Lapwing

Loon

Magpie

Osprey

Ostrich

Owl

Parrot

Pelican

Penguin

Plover

Rail

Raven

Roadrunner

Sandpiper

Seagull

Stork

Swallow

Swift

Vulture

Water Hen

Woodpecker

Unclean Lizards and Amphibians

Alligator

Blindworm

Caiman

Frog

Crocodile

Newt

Lizards

Salamander

Snake

Toad

Turtle

Unclean Fish and Marine Life*

Abalone

Bullhead

Catfish

Clam

Conch

Crab

Crayfish

Cuttlefish

Dolphin

Eel

European turbot

Jellyfish

Limpet

Lobster

Marlin

Mussel

Octopus

Otter

Oyster

Paddlefish

Porpoise

Prawn

Scallop

Seal

Shark

Shrimp

Squid (calamari)

Squid Scallop

Stickleback

Sturgeon (includes most caviar)

Swordfish

Walrus

Whale

*All shellfish are unclean.

List of Unclean Ingredients

Some food ingredients are unclean because of their content. As Paul says, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Once these unclean ingredients are added to a dish, the whole dish becomes corrupted. God does not want one ounce of our bodies to be corrupted with uncleanness, for he commands us not to even touch the carcasses of unclean animals. Do not be careless; protect your bodily temple. His Holy Spirit dwells within you. Guard yourself from uncleanness and watch out for these ingredients. Remember, what happens in the natural is a reflection of the spiritual! Listed below are unclean ingredients and some common items these ingredients may be found in. Sometimes you can find substitutes of these items without unclean ingredients (like yogurt).

Gelatin—Gelatin is comprised of horse bones, pig bones, and the left over parts of other animals that are not used for other products. This product is used to make liquid substances congeal or firm. Commonly found in: Yogurt, Sour Cream, Zingers, Snowballs, Marshmallows, Skittles, Starburst, Some types of peanuts, and Jell-O.

Kosher Gelatin—Yes, even Kosher Gelatin is not Kosher. Our ministry did some research into Kosher Gelatin and found out that sometimes it is not Levitically Clean. Don’t risk it. You can always call a company and ask them the source of the Gelatin, whether it is clean (bovine or cow) or from unclean animals (like pigs, horses, or porcupines). Commonly found in the same foods as regular Gelatin.

Lard, animal fat, or pig’s fat – Lard, animal fat, or pig’s fat is made from pig’s fat and is added into many different foods either to add taste, firmness, or for other reasons. Commonly found in: Pie crusts, pies, Jiffy Cornbread Mix, some snack cakes, pork and beans, some seasoned vegetables, some canned beans, and some refried beans.

The best thing you can do is read the ingredients of every item you buy to make sure nothing unclean is in it. These ingredients get slipped in all the time, so be careful!