Current Press Releases

Farm Sanctuary Urges Passage of Legislation to Ban the Production and Sale of Foie Gras in Hawaii

Farm Animal Protection Organization Leads Nationwide Efforts to End the Force-Feeding of Birds to Produce Foie Gras

Honolulu, HI - January 26, 2006 - Farm Sanctuary, the nation's leading farm animal shelter and advocacy organization, today announced its support of legislation introduced in the Hawaii State Legislature to ban the production and sale of foie gras. Senator Suzanne Chun Oakland is sponsoring a bill that would ban the force feeding of birds for foie gras, and the sale of any product produced in this manner.

"We are very pleased to see Hawaii join the ranks of other states considering a ban on foie gras," said Gene Baur (formerly Bauston), president of Farm Sanctuary. "We encourage law makers in Hawaii to enact this basic humane proposal, which prevents an intolerable cruelty."

To date, 87 restaurants in Hawaii have pledged not to include foie gras on their menus. More than 15 countries-including Israel, formerly the world's fourth-largest foie gras producer-prohibit the production or sale of foie gras due to animal welfare concerns. In the United States, the state of California passed a similar ban, and foie gras prohibitions have been introduced by state legislatures in Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Washington.

A French term meaning "fatty liver," foie gras is the enlarged, diseased liver of ducks or geese that are force fed as a pipe is shoved down their throats several times daily. Confined in small pens or individual cages barely larger than their own bodies, these birds are forced to ingest amounts of food far in excess of what they would eat in the wild. In a matter of weeks, their livers expand up to ten times their normal size until they reach the diseased state of "hepatic lipidosis," in which they no longer function properly. It is this diseased, fatty mass that is sold as foie gras.

More information about foie gras production and legislation banning foie gras production in both the U.S. and worldwide, can be found at http://www.nofoiegras.org.

About Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at www.farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.