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Prosecutors Fail to Charge Foie Gras Producer Elevages Perigord Despite Documentation of Sickening Abuses

Watkins Glen, NY - August 23, 2007 - Farm Sanctuary, the nation's leading farm animal protection agency expressed great disappointment today as Crown Prosecutors in Quebec failed to charge the notorious foie gras producer Elevages Perigord with animal cruelty despite the egregious abuses brought to the attention of the court last month by Farm Sanctuary and Global Action Network. The shocking undercover footage revealed workers in the facility:

• Tearing off the heads of live ducks
• Kicking, throwing and punching ducks
• Bashing live ducks against walls and floors
• Suffocating and crushing live ducklings
• Slaughter of fully-conscious ducks

"The failure to prosecute represents a break down in the enforcement system and does not speak to the legality or the morality of practices at Elevages Perigord," said Gene Baur, President of Farm Sanctuary. "The callousness, brutality and egregious cruelty involved in producing foie gras is not supported by the majority of citizens in any country. The documentation demonstrates a clear attitude of cruelty which is endemic to the foie gras industry."

Ducks and geese used in foie gras production are de-billed, de-toed and forced to live in extreme confinement in filthy, poorly-maintained cages. Nutritionally incomplete gruel is pressure-pumped down their throats through a metal pipe several times a day. This force feeding is known to cause bruising, lacerations, sores, trauma, and even death. It also creates the grossly oversized and diseased "fatty liver" for which foie gras is named. Gasping, regurgitating and struggling to move, the birds endure this process every day at the end of their short lives.

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.