The beasts of the field and the fish of the sea

This is a detail from the main entrance to the Department of Energy and Climate Change where I had a meeting this afternoon.

Why carvings of cattle and fish?

When it was first built, this building in London's Whitehall Place was the headquarters of MAFF, the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food.

I think details like this give the building distinction but you won't find them on new public buildings nowadays in this age of austerity.