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>But yes - in Peru they are. For the rest of the world, the gunea pigs are bred to be used as, well, guinea pigs :). In Serbian, the domestic word is "zamorac" - "za-" meaning "for-", and "moriti" - to kill (same root as in nightmare; Morija was some Slavic god of plague or whatever).

Interesting. I looked up nightmare and got "from the old English for an incubus or goblin". How did slavic languages get a similar root?

I think they used to be taken on ships for eating too. The advantage, I expect, is that you can grow fresh meat as fast as you eat it, just by letting them eat the waste food and spilt grain, etc. from the holds.

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>Their current use as pets is the first chance for the poor little animals to have a decent life. And if you saw our one, more wide than long, it's more than decent :).