WATKINS GLEN, NY — Senator Alana DiMario (D-36) and Representative Brandon Potter (D-16) have introduced legislation (S 0471/H 5731) that would prohibit the sale of foie gras in Rhode Island. Foie gras, or “fatty liver,” is the diseased and enlarged liver of ducks or geese, produced through violent force-feeding via a tube shoved down the bird’s throat.
The bill is supported by Farm Sanctuary, the country’s first farm animal sanctuary and advocacy organization, along with other humane organizations, veterinarians and businesses. The proposed ban would follow similar laws in California and New York City. The bill was heard in the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture on March 17.
“Foie gras is a cruel and unnecessary product that’s reputation as a ‘delicacy’ belies the brutality of its production,” said Sen. DiMario. “The good people of Rhode Island overwhelmingly oppose animal cruelty, and if given a choice, I believe will be in favor of following in the footsteps of California, New York City, and the more than a dozen countries that have already banned it.”
“Foie gras is produced from an incredibly brutal and inhumane process of force-feeding geese against their will by sticking metal pipes down their throats,” said Rep. Potter. “Rhode Island has a long history of supporting animal rights and fighting animal abuse, and as more people realize just exactly where this menu item comes from, I have no doubt they will support ending the sale and production of such a cruel product.”
Farm Sanctuary has worked to end the sale and production of foie gras for decades, sponsoring California’s landmark 2004 legislation to ban foie gras in the state, and joining a coalition that successfully banned the sale of foie gras throughout New York City—one of the country’s largest markets—effective 2022, while also rescuing birds from this horrific industry. Ducks who have come to Farm Sanctuary after being rescued from foie gras farms are among the sickest and most traumatized animals the group has cared for in its 35 years.
Foie gras producers forcibly feed birds up to a third of their own body weight daily by shoving a pipe down their throats, causing their livers to swell up to ten times their normal size. Ducks or geese subjected to this extreme cruelty (called “gavage”) often die from injuries related to the force feeding or from liver failure, as their livers develop a pathological state of hepatic lipidosis. The force-feeding can cause painful bruising, lacerations, sores, and tearing of the birds’ throats. The ducks also suffer from bill trimming, which is routinely performed on factory farms, ostensibly to prevent them from pecking each other when they are so severely confined.
The European Commission’s report on foie gras compiled by its Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Welfare (SCAHAW) production plainly states, “The Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare concludes that force feeding, as currently practised, is detrimental to the welfare of the birds.” The report further states that “…if ducks or geese are force fed for longer than that which occurs commercially, mortality can be very high, largely as a consequence of failure of liver function. Hence it is clear that steatosis and other effects of force feeding are lethal when the procedures are continued.”
Most of the American public—nearly 80%, according to a 2003 Zogby International poll—opposes the force feeding of birds in foie gras production and favors a ban. Hundreds of dining establishments, including top chefs Charlie Trotter and Wolfgang Puck, have publicly denounced foie gras production as cruel and refuse to sell it, and leaders like Pope Benedict XVI and Prince Charles of Great Britain eschew foie gras and have spoken against it.
Over a dozen countries, including Israel (until recently the world’s third-largest foie gras producer) have banned the production of foie gras based on humane concerns.
