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Tuesday 25th November is the second World Day against Foie Gras and on which day French Embassies around the world will be presented with a memorandum asking for the French, who currently supply 70% of the world’s foie gras, to put an end to the suffering of many millions of birds annually. The Cape Town embassy too, will be presented with a memorandum.
According to Stop Gavage, the French organisation against foie gras, worldwide 80 million birds, of which ducks make up 96% due to the fact that they are cheaper to keep and feed than geese, are force fed annually – known as gavage – several times daily until slaughter.
Force feeding results in steatosis of the liver, (hepatic lipidosis) a condition in which large fat globules accumulate in the liver cells to an extent never seen in any normal healthy birds. This condition is considered pathological by most animal welfare experts, despite the foie gras industry funded research, that attempts to gloss over the realities by stating that the condition is reversible when force feeding is halted. Except for the birds, their suffering ends when they die.
Their livers end up being 8 to 10% larger than normal, and anyone who has had a distended or inflamed organ knows the pain involved. Add to that the fact that these waterfowl are usually caged and have no access to swimming and washing water, they endure fear and distress caused by catching, restraint and the force feeding procedure, they suffer discomfort, pain and injuries, with the possibility of secondary infection, due to the repeated insertion of the feeding tube, liver structure and function is severely altered and compromised. The enlarged liver causes discomfort and illness and forces the legs outwards so that the birds have difficulty standing and their natural gait and ability to walk are severely impaired. They suffer increased incidence of bone fractures and liver lesions and an increased incidence of respiratory disorders. The mortality rate of birds on these farms is significantly higher, as much as 20 times higher than on standard poultry farms.
It may be tradition, it may be culture, but times have progressed and the undeniable pain and suffering caused by modern farming methods are unacceptable. Foie Gras is but one of many unspeakably cruel items we eat, is trendy and for those with the funds to spend outrageous amounts on a small plate consisting of 85% fat and 100% suffering.
Furthermore, this is linked to the down industry; even more horror! Research into the goose feather industry indicates it seems that a fairly common custom is to pick the feathers out of living geese. While the practise is forbidden in the EU, this law is not enforced in Poland and Hungary. Undercover footage shows the geese scream in their pain. The biggest wounds resulting from the torture are hast ily sown together by their torturers so that the animals will not bleed to death but be ready for another "treatment" later on. The geese have to endure this torture three to four times before slaughter, unless they are especially unlucky and after this, are being sent to a foie gras farm for gavage.
Migratory birds gorge, or carboload, before migration. They certainly do not eat themselves to the point of near death! The birds currently farmed are not migratory birds. The fact they have no gag reflex, and therefore unable to vomit excess food, is worse, in my view, not better!
Only male ducks are suitable to produce foie gras, so many industrial producers simply kill all their female ducklings as soon as they've been sexed.
There is no such thing as cruelty free foie gras. Any attempt to enlarge the liver will result in stress and prolonged pain. The No Foie Gras campaign in SA, established 2006, is committed to the removal of Foie Gras from restaurants and store shelves due to the cruel nature of the product. Foie Gras CANNOT be produced without causing immense suffering and distress.
NFGSA has successfully made an impact over time, resulting in several world class and well known SA venues changing menus or removing FG from shelves, and has the support of several well-known South Africans, including Nobel Laureates Archbishop Tutu and author JM Coetzee. See www.bwcsa.co.za/foie-gras for more information.
