March 2000

Campaign launched to ban foie gras from restaurant menus

In a new campaign being launched today, the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and Advocates for Animals are urging restaurateurs, chefs and consumers to keep foie gras off the menu once and for all, describing it as one of the cruellest forms of food produced in the world today.

A new report commissioned by the two organisations, 'Forced feeding, the facts behind foie gras production', outlines how new factory-style foie gras farms have led to a three-fold increase in production over the past decade. Last year, France, which has by far the largest foie gras industry, produced 15,000 tonnes of liver from 25 million force-fed duck and geese. This rise has led to it becoming increasingly affordable. The UK is one of the world's biggest importers of foie gras, consuming over 50 tonnes in 1998. Some British supermarket chains, such as Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Tesco, continue to sell foie gras at Christmas and other times of the year.

Ducks, rather than geese, account for more than 90 per cent of all birds raised by the industry because they are cheaper to keep and feed. The majority of these birds are kept in individual cages so small that they are unable to stand or stretch their wings properly. They are commonly fed using a pneumatic pump forced down the throat, which injects up to half a kilo of maize and fat in a couple of seconds. This is repeated two or three times per day for up to three weeks so that, by the time they are slaughtered, the bird's liver will have swelled to between six and ten times its natural size.

Due to the conditions they have to endure, many ducks and geese die prematurely from causes such as cardiac and renal failure, and liver haemorrhage. A recent study by the European Union's Scientific Committee on Animal Health found that mortality rates on some farms were as high as four per cent during the force-feeding period - 20 times the level that would be expected amongst ducks raised on a normal farm.

Jonathan Pearce, WSPA Campaigns Director, said " No other system of farming purposefully raises animals to become deformed and diseased. While some people may think of foie gras as being a taste made in heaven, it is a product made in hell."

Les Ward, Director of Advocates for Animals, commented "Foie gras production causes appalling suffering and distress to ducks and geese. This is farming at its worst: inhumane and with little or no thought for the animals involved. All decent and compassionate people should make their voices heard and say no to foie gras."

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Available on request:

• Copies of report, broadcast quality footage and photographs.
• Interviews with WSPA staff.
  

Please contact:

Anne Lloyd-Jones, WSPA, on (02) 9901 5277 or 0404 066 498 during business hours, or e-mail annelj@wspa.org.au.