Urge Quebec to prohibit force-feeding for foie gras

Foie gras is often labeled a “delicacy” food item made from the livers of ducks or geese. To produce it, animals are force-fed food through long metal or rubber tubes shoved down their throats, causing their livers to become abnormally enlarged. Ducks and geese are generally confined in very small, restrictive cages or pens. These terrible practices can lead to tragic injuries, illness and disease.

Quebec increasingly stands alone as one of North America’s largest producers of foie gras. Force-feeding animals until their organs become diseased is a horrible practice and one that has no place in the 21st century.

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Minister

André

Lamontagne

Quebec government

Premier Ministre

François

Legault

Quebec government

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Dear Premier Legault and Minister Lamontagne,

I am writing to register critical animal welfare concerns related to the globally condemned foie gras industry and its cruel practice of force-feeding birds known as ‘gavage.’ I urge you to follow the lead of many other industrialized nations and phase out this inhumane practice in Quebec.

Foie gras is made from the grossly enlarged livers of ducks or geese. To produce it, animals are force-fed through long metal or rubber tubes that are shoved down their throats, and mash feed is pumped into each animal’s esophagus, far exceeding the amount of food that they would naturally eat. The highly concentrated diet causes the animals to gain weight, with fat accumulating in the liver especially so that the organs become intentionally and abnormally enlarged. This practice leads to numerous injuries and illnesses – many captured in undercover videos and photographs taken in Quebec. They are disturbing images, showing dead and dying birds with organ failure, beak and throat injuries and other ailments. During the force-feeding phase, ducks and geese are generally confined in very small, restrictive cages or pens.

This process is repeated multiple times a day, causing the birds’ livers to become diseased and swell up to several times their natural size. Ducks and geese are then slaughtered, and their fattened livers are sold whole or ground up into a pâté. Although it is usually quite expensive to purchase, foie gras’ high price tag is nothing compared to the suffering that it causes. In fact, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has condemned force-feeding, stating that it raises “serious animal welfare issues.”
 
Many countries, including Australia, Argentina, Israel, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom have already made it illegal to produce foie gras. India became the first country to ban its import in 2014, and Argentina banned production in 2013. 
 
Quebec increasingly stands alone as one of North America’s largest producers of foie gras. Many consumers like me are highly concerned about animal welfare and believe that it is important for animals to live as naturally and free from harm as possible without being force-fed and intensively confined.

I urge the Government of Quebec to prohibit the practice of force-feeding and better regulate this cruel and needless industry. Force-feeding animals until their organs become diseased is a horrible practice and one that has no place in the 21st century.

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