Current Press Releases

Poll Shows New York Consumers Favor Ban on Cruel Practice of Force-Feeding to Produce Foie Gras

Pending Legislation Reflects the Will of State Residents

WATKINS GLEN, NY - MARCH 29, 2005 - A new Zogby International poll shows that four out of five likely voters (78%) in the state of New York favor a ban on the force feeding of ducks or geese to produce foie gras. These results map closely to a national poll conducted by Zogby in 2004 that found 77% of Americans in support of a ban. This latest poll comes on the heels of New York Assembly Bill 6212, introduced by Assemblymember John McEneny, that would amend the state animal cruelty law to make it "unlawful to force feed a bird, by hand or machine, for the purpose of fatty enlargement of the bird's liver."

Currently, only two states have operations that produce foie gras - California and New York. However, the California State Legislature passed a law in September 2004 that will prohibit this cruel practice and ban the sale of foie gras statewide. Commenting on foie gras production, Assemblymember McEneny stated, "Tradition is no excuse for animal cruelty. As society progresses, people realize that the product produced by this archaic practice is cruel to animals and should be banned."

Farm Sanctuary, a leading farm animal shelter and advocacy organization, is spearheading campaigns in several states to ban the production and sale of foie gras. The organization has worked closely with legislators and other animal protection groups in California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Oregon and New York on recent and pending foie gras bills. In addition to success in California, the Illinois' Senate Executive Committee recently approved, with a unanimous vote, a ban on the force feeding of birds, moving the Illinois bill one step closer to becoming law during this legislative term.

"We are committed to ending this cruel practice nationwide, and recent successes have only built momentum for our cause," said Gene Baur (formerly Bauston), president of Farm Sanctuary. "There are certain intensive farming practices that are simply abhorrent and outside the bounds of acceptable conduct. Foie gras production is among the worst and it must end."

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.

Zogby's poll also tested the frequency that consumers eat foie gras and found that less than one in ten ever eat the specialty food item. Of this small percentage that do eat foie gras on occasion, the majority stated that they would support a law that banned the force feeding of birds to produce 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.