Dear Minister:
I am completely opposed to the immense suffering inflicted on ducks and geese to produce foie gras. I strongly urge you to ban UK imports and sales of this “torture in a tin”.
Foie gras is a notoriously vile food for which birds are condemned to such intense suffering that its production is illegal in the UK and more than a dozen other countries. However, around 180 to 200 tonnes of this product are still imported into the UK each year.
To produce foie gras, ducks and geese are force-fed several times a day until their livers become diseased and swollen to up to 10 times their natural size. By the end of their short lives, many birds have trouble breathing because their enlarged livers compress their lungs. This is why the EU’s own Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare recommends that “force-feeding of ducks and geese should stop and this could be best achieved by the prohibition of the production, importation, distribution and sale of foie gras”.
We should close our borders to this cruel trade. A ban would reflect the view of the overwhelming majority of Brits – 79% – who want to see an end to imports of foie gras.
By making the decision to stop importing and selling this vile product, the UK would close the loophole that currently allows a food whose production is so cruel that it cannot take place here to remain on our shelves – and become a world leader in animal protection.
Sincerely,