http://www.banfoiegras.org/page.php?module=press_release&article_id=7595

City of York Bans Sale of Foie Gras

Becomes first in UK to outlaw cruel duck liver

The anti-foie gras fervor that is sweeping the states is not confined to this side of the Atlantic, as the city of York recently became the first city in the United Kingdom to ban the sale of diseased livers from force-fed waterfowl. This is great news for a campaign that continues to grow worldwide because it opens up the possibility that the sale of foie gras will be outlawed throughout England.

While British animal welfare laws prevent foie gras producers from setting up shop in the country, the country remains one of the biggest importers of French foie gras in Europe. Yet Paul Blanchard, the Labor Party councilor who introduced the humane motion, hopes this will be the first step in making the entire country completely foie gras-free. "I believe York can play its part tonight to get foie gras banned in the UK," Blanchard told The Daily Mail newspaper. "This motion will be a start and it will raise awareness of this intolerable cruelty. This could genuinely be the end for foie gras in this country."

Blanchard has good cause for his confidence. Now that the City of York Council has approved his motion, they will start lobbying Lord Rooker, the Minister for Sustainable Food and Farming and Animal Health, to review the cruelty involved in foie gras production in light of the British government's policies on animal welfare issues. An honest analysis of the force-feeding process will hopefully lead the Ministry to conclude, as others have, that it universally ranks as one of the cruelest forms of animal agriculture, and that foie gras imports should henceforth be prohibited.

Ducks used for foie gras are kept in sheds without access to water for swimming, an activity that is as natural to them as walking is to us. The birds are force-fed about four pounds of corn mush every day through pipes shoved down their throats. By the end of the process, ducks are physically debilitated with livers up to ten times normal size, and many are unable to stand or walk. In the U.S., California has passed a law that will ban the sale and production of foie gras by 2012, and it is already illegal to sell foie gras in the city of Chicago. In addition, the production of foie gras has been banned in 15 other countries around the world.

What You Can Do:

-Visit www.banfoiegras.org for more information on foie gras and what you can do to combat this cruelty.

-Please write to Paul Blanchard to thank him for his efforts to ban foie gras.

Councilor Paul Blanchard
Tel: +44 845 388 8875
Fax: +44 870 442 5298
Email: Paul-Bl@nchard.com

October 10, 2007

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In Defense of Animals
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