85% back UK foie gras import ban

A YouGov survey, commissioned by animal protection organisation Animal Equality UK, found that 85% of respondents were in support of the government introducing legislation to prevent the import of foie gras made by force feeding.

The production of foie gras in the UK soil has been banned since 2011 on the basis of animal welfare concerns, but the pâté can still be imported.

During production, geese and ducks are force fed until their livers become diseased and swell up to ten times their natural size.

Of the 2,189 participants in the survey, 78% also said that they oppose the force-feeding of animals to produce an item for human consumption.

Prior to the general election, the Labour party said that it would ban the importation of foie gras made by force-feeding if elected. Following the party’s landslide victory​​, Animal Equality UK is calling for the government to deliver on this promise.

“Ducks and geese exploited by the foie gras industry suffer the most gruesome of fates,”​ said the organisation’s executive director Abigail Penny.

“Caged, held down, and violently force-fed until their livers become diseased, these animals suffer agonising physical and psychological pain during their short and miserable lives. The UK has already criminalised this practice in the UK, yet has hypocritically paid for and outsourced this cruelty abroad for over a decade. The Labour Party rightly committed to a ban and we urge ministers to swiftly follow through on this promise. Ducks and geese have suffered at the hands of this wicked industry for far too long already.”​

Liberal Democrat MP Dr Danny Chambers, also a vet, added: "The force-feeding of duck and geese to make foie gras is utterly disgusting and undermines high standards of animal welfare. Food produced this way should have no place on our dinner tables."​

In other news, food technology startup Gourmey has submitted an application to UK regulators for the authorisation of its lab-grown foie gras.​​