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Pennsylvanian Voters Support Effort to Outlaw "Foie Gras"

New Zogby Poll Shows Four out of Five Likely Voters in Pennsylvania Oppose Force Feeding Ducks

Philadelphia, PA - May 25, 2006 - Farm Sanctuary, the nation's leading farm animal shelter and advocacy organization, today announced the release of a Zogby International poll that reveals a vast majority, 80 percent, of likely voters in Pennsylvania agree that the sale of foie gras should be banned. Last month, the Chicago City Council approved a measure to end the sale of foie gras, and Philadelphia City Councilman Jack Kelly is introducing a similar measure in Philadelphia.

Foie gras (French for “fatty liver”) is produced by force feeding ducks as a pipe is thrust down their throats and large quantities of food are pumped in. The practice causes the birds’ livers to expand up to ten times their normal size, and makes it difficult for the birds to walk or breathe comfortably.

Councilman Jack Kelly stated, “We have an ethical obligation to treat animals with respect and compassion. Force feeding birds to make an expensive appetizer is cruel and unnecessary, and it should not be condoned in our society.”

Foie gras production is prohibited in more than a dozen European countries, as well as Israel, once the world's third-largest producer of the product. In 2004, California passed a law to ban the production and sale of this fatty liver product, and Massachusetts is now considering a similar measure.

Gene Baur (formerly Bauston), president of Farm Sanctuary, an organization pushing a U.S. - wide effort to prohibit the cruelty of foie gras, added, "Like all animals, farm animals experience pain and suffering, and they deserve to be protected from cruelty. Foie gras has no place in a society that values compassion."

The Zogby poll also found that 88 percent of Pennsylvanians believe farm animals should be protected under the state’s anti-cruelty laws and 92 percent think it is important for animals on farms to be treated humanely.

Additional information about foie gras production, legislation banning foie gras production, as well as a list of restaurants and retail establishments that have pledged to not serve the product, 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.