Current Press Releases

British City Council Bans Foie Gras In Council Chambers, Urges Restaurants To Stop Serving Cruel Product

York is First City in U.K. to Call for Nationwide Ban on Cruel Product

Watkins Glen, NY - October 5, 2007 - Farm Sanctuary, the nation's leading farm animal shelter and advocacy organization, today applauds the City of York in Great Britain for passing a motion to ban the sale of foie gras on council premises. The City Council is informing restaurants of the ruling and expectation of further action. York is the second city in the world, after Chicago, to pass a prohibition on the sale of this expensive appetizer, which is a product of extreme animal cruelty. "It is wonderful to see legislators around the world take up this cause and make a strong statement against a cruel and unnecessary practice," said Gene Baur, president of Farm Sanctuary. "Law makers in York and Chicago are to be commended for speaking out against cruelty and upholding a compassionate societal ethic. They stand as humane examples for others to follow."

Foie gras (translated from French as "fatty liver") is produced by force-feeding ducks and geese two or three times each day through a pipe shoved down their throats. The force-feeding can cause painful bruising, lacerations, sores, and asphyxiation when the birds' throats become impacted with feed. This unhealthy and unnatural diet causes the birds' livers to become diseased and swell up to 10 times their normal size, making it difficult for the birds to walk or even breathe. Veterinarians and other animal experts, along with religious leaders, businesses and legal scholars, have called for an end to the cruelty of foie gras.

York's humane motion follows that of Chicago, which voted nearly unanimously in April 2006 to ban the sale of foie gras within city limits. Chicago's ordinance went into effect in August 2006. More than a dozen countries have laws prohibiting foie gras production on ethical grounds, and, in 2004, California passed the first U.S. law to end the production and sale of foie gras in the state.

A January, 2007 Zogby poll revealed 73 percent of likely voters in the U.S. agree that foie gras production should be outlawed. Additional information about foie gras, legislation banning its sale or production, as well as a list of restaurants and retail establishments in the U.S. that have pledged to not serve foie gras, can be found at 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.