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Farm Sanctuary Applauds NYC Councilman Avella’s Proposed Resolution that Supports Ending the Cruelty of Foie Gras Production in New York State 

Farm Sanctuary Joins Avella and other Animal Protection Organizations Today on the Steps of City Hall for a Press Conference Announcing Resolution

New York, NY – June 11, 2008 – Today, at a press conference on the steps of City Hall, Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, thanked Council Member Tony Avella (D-Queens) for proposing a resolution in support of pending state legislation to prohibit the production of foie gras in New York. Legislation to end the force feeding of birds – a practice widely regarded as one of the most egregious acts of animal cruelty still in existence today – is pending in the New York State Legislature (S 1463), sponsored by State Senator Frank Padavan (D-Queens) and Assemblyman Michael Benjamin (D-Bronx).

“Farm Sanctuary is grateful to Councilman Avella for introducing this important and humane-minded resolution and we urge members of the council to strongly support it,” said Julie Janovsky, Farm Sanctuary’s Director of Campaigns. “New Yorkers are overwhelmingly opposed to animal cruelty and this measure demonstrates strong support for ending one of the cruelest and most unnecessary forms of abuse in animal agribusiness.”

“The practice of force feeding birds in order to produce foie gras is simply cruel and inhumane. More often than not this tortuous practice involves utilizing a metal tube to forcibly feed birds, typically ducks or geese, with excessive amounts of food for a period of several weeks, which essentially induces liver damage and a tremendous amount of pain. The abolition of this practice is long overdue and must be done immediately,” stated Avella.

A 2006 Zogby International poll found that three out of four likely voters (77 percent) favor an all out ban on foie gras in New York State. Hudson Valley Foie Gras, the subject of numerous violations of the federal Clean Water Act and the recipient of a $420,000 grant of tax-payer money from former Governor Pataki in 2006, is the largest foie gras producer in the U.S. and based in New York State. In 2004, California, home to the second largest foie gras producer in the U.S., passed a law to ban the production and sale of this fatty liver product, which will go into effect in 2012, and 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. Most recently, South Africa has declared it illegal as well, based on humane concerns.

More than 1000 restaurants nationwide have signed pledges not to serve foie gras and major grocery chains including Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s refuse to sell the product. In April 2008, the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production released the most comprehensive independent research report to date on animal agriculture in the United States that included a recommendation to ban the practice of force feeding birds to produce foie gras.

Foie gras (French for “fatty liver”) is the liver of a duck or goose who has been force fed until the liver expands up to 10 times its normal size. During the force-feeding process, workers shove a pipe down the birds' throats and force them to ingest up to one-third of their own body weight daily. This force-feeding causes the painful liver disease, hepatic lipidosis. The hugely-swollen livers of birds in foie gras production push against other organs, causing extreme respiratory stress, and most birds have trouble walking. Necropsies on foie gras birds have shown grossly-enlarged livers, lacerated tracheas and esophagi, pneumonia, throats and gullets severely impacted with undigested corn, massive internal bacterial and fungal growth.

More information about foie gras, including independent research reports on the subject can be found at www.nofoiegras.org.

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 http://www.farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.