Are Buddhists Vegetarians?

In Buddhism, the choice to consume meat has been left up to the individual, however a large section of Buddhists are vegetarian. The reason for this is largely based in Buddhist philosophy which states that humans and animals are creatures that undergo suffering which has to be relieved. Eating meat would also means that one harms another being, something that is not accepted in their principal Five Precepts and would add on to their bad karma.

However, some Buddhist monks do consume meat and also do not follow the practice that requires them to keep away strong smelling vegetables such as onion, garlic, shallots etc. Although there is no hard and fast rule about diet, some still believe that all followers of Buddhism must keep away from meat the same way that the Buddha did.  

They dont have to be. "Why budhist are not vegetarians?" is a question buddha himself answered in "Amagandha Sutra". He never layed any restrictions on meat. He himself was NOT a vegetarian. However there are restrictions on certain types of meat such as Elephant meat, Horse meat, Snake meat, Human meat. Therefore a budhist deciple (sanga) must ask the server what kind of meat is it when it is served.