Skip to content

Amazon Cruelty: Ban Foie Gras!

June 15, 2013
by



Please urge Amazon.com to do the right thing. Take action here.

In May 2013, a Mercy For Animals investigator documented a culture of cruelty at Hudson Valley Foie Gras in Ferndale, New York, a company that falsely bills itself as “the humane choice for purchasing foie gras.” The shocking undercover video footage shows:

Workers violently grabbing ducks by their wings and necks and then shoving metal pipes down their throats
Countless ducks hyperventilating as their unnaturally large livers pressed against their lungs making it difficult for them to breathe
Dead ducks—killed by the cruel force-feeding process—callously thrown away into garbage bins
Workers callously grabbing and tossing ducks by their fragile wings into transport cages
Birds with open, bleeding wounds left to suffer in tiny wire cages without proper veterinary care
Fully conscious ducks being shackled upside down and having their throats cut open

After reviewing the undercover footage, Dr. Greg Burkett, DVM, a board-certified avian specialist, stated: “If one looks at the production of foie gras for what it really is—causing a healthy liver to become diseased by forced overfeeding—then eating it could leave a whole different taste in your mouth.”

Dr. Nedim Buyukmihci, emeritus professor of veterinary medicine at the University of California, wrote: “This overfeeding will lead to liver enlargement and malfunction, causing chronic metabolic dysfunction and illness. The ducks at this facility, therefore, are being subjected to extremely inhumane conditions causing them to suffer greatly.”

Workers at this foie gras facility admit that the force-feeding process is so abusive that ducks routinely die from it. Some of the ducks simply choke to death, while others succumb to slow and painful suffocation as their unnaturally enlarged livers press against their lungs and make it impossible for them to breathe.

Force-feeding birds to produce foie gras is considered so blatantly cruel that the practice has been outlawed in California and more than a dozen countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Israel.

A comprehensive report by the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare examined the production of foie gras and unequivocally concluded: “[F]orce-feeding, as currently practised, is detrimental to the welfare of the birds.”

Dr. Ward Stone, a senior wildlife pathologist at the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, stated: “[T]he short tortured lives of ducks raised for foie gras is well outside the norm of farm practice. Having seen the pathology that occurs from foie gras production, I strongly recommend that this process be outlawed.”

According to Dr. Ian Duncan, a poultry welfare expert and professor in applied ethology at the University of Guelph in Canada, “[F]orce feeding quickly results in birds that are obese and in a pathological state, called hepatic lipidosis or fatty liver disease. There is no doubt that in this pathological state, the birds will feel very ill. In my view it is completely unethical to deliberately promote a diseased state in an animal.”

But it doesn’t take a scientist to understand that foie gras production is cruel and unjustifiable. Leading chefs, restaurants, and grocery retailers, including Costco, Safeway, Wolfgang Puck, Giant Eagle, and Target, refuse to sell foie gras due to its inherent cruelty.

Unfortunately, Amazon.com—the world’s largest online retailer—perpetuates this blatant animal abuse by continuing to sell foie gras worldwide. Amazon.com has both the power and ethical responsibility to help end the cruel force-feeding of ducks by ending the sale of foie gras.

Please urge Amazon.com to do the right thing. Take action here.

Then consider taking further action to help prevent cruelty to ducks and other farmed animals by rejecting foie gras and other animal products, and adopting a compassionate vegetarian diet.


foie gross

cruel, vicious and antiquated.
amazon stop offering
this cruelty, outdated.
a fate to which you
would never want to
be relegated!

Karen Lyons Kalmenson


18 Comments leave one →
  1. June 15, 2013 7:39 pm

    Letter sent !!!

    Christine xx

    ________________________________ From: Our Compass To: chrisholder1@btinternet.com Sent: Sunday, 16 June 2013, 1:59 Subject: [New post] Amazon Cruelty: Ban Foie Gras!

    WordPress.com Stacey posted: ” Please urge Amazon.com to do the right thing. Take action here. In May 2013, a Mercy For Animals investigator documented a culture of cruelty at Hudson Valley Foie Gras in Ferndale, New York, a company that falsely bills itself as “the humane cho” Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on Our Compass Amazon Cruelty: Ban Foie Gras!by Stacey Please urge Amazon.com to do the right thing. Take action here. In May 2013, a Mercy For Animals investigator documented a culture of cruelty at Hudson Valley Foie Gras in Ferndale, New York, a company that falsely bills itself as “the humane choice for purchasing foie gras.” The shocking undercover video footage shows: Workers violently grabbing ducks by their wings and necks and then shoving metal pipes down their throats Countless ducks hyperventilating as their unnaturally large livers pressed against their lungs making it difficult for them to breathe Dead ducks—killed by the cruel force-feeding process—callously thrown away into garbage bins Workers callously grabbing and tossing ducks by their fragile wings into transport cages Birds with open, bleeding wounds left to suffer in tiny wire cages without proper veterinary care Fully conscious ducks being shackled upside down and having their throats cut open After reviewing the undercover footage, Dr. Greg Burkett, DVM, a board-certified avian specialist, stated: “If one looks at the production of foie gras for what it really is—causing a healthy liver to become diseased by forced overfeeding—then eating it could leave a whole different taste in your mouth.” Dr. Nedim Buyukmihci, emeritus professor of veterinary medicine

    Like

  2. karenlyonskalmenson permalink
    June 16, 2013 3:13 am

    foie gross

    cruel, vicious and antiquated.
    amazon stop offering
    this cruelty, outdated.
    a fate to which you
    would never want to
    be relegated!

    Like

  3. June 16, 2013 3:56 am

    Reblogged this on Carinas space and commented:
    Action taken and shared. Please do the same, thank you.

    Like

  4. narhvalur permalink
    June 16, 2013 8:24 am

    Reblogged this on Ann Novek–With the Sky as the Ceiling and the Heart Outdoors.

    Like

  5. June 16, 2013 10:38 pm

    I didn’t know how foie gras was made. Now that I do, I’ll never eat it! I will sign the petition. I’ll also post it on my blog. Thanks for the info!

    Like

  6. June 17, 2013 3:44 pm

    petition signed and shared in severalplaces Thanks Stacey

    Like

  7. Julia Richards permalink
    June 17, 2013 11:52 pm

    Workers at this foie gras facility admit that the force-feeding process is so abusive that ducks routinely die from it. Some of the ducks simply choke to death, while others succumb to slow and painful suffocation as their unnaturally enlarged livers press against their lungs and make it impossible for them to breathe.

    Force-feeding birds to produce foie gras is considered so blatantly cruel that the practice has been outlawed in California and more than a dozen countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Israel.

    Dr. Nedim Buyukmihci, emeritus professor of veterinary medicine at the University of California, wrote: “This overfeeding will lead to liver enlargement and malfunction, causing chronic metabolic dysfunction and illness. The ducks at this facility, therefore, are being subjected to extremely inhumane conditions causing them to suffer greatly.”

    I urge you in light of how cruel the production of foie gras is to these ducks who are made to suffer every minute of their short lives and the cruelty shown by the workers at Hudson Valley Foie Gras in Ferndale, New York in the documented video of foie gras production to ban the sale of this product on Amazon.com in all countries.

    Like

  8. freedomveg permalink
    June 27, 2013 6:50 am

    Reblogged this on freedomveg.

    Like

  9. July 10, 2013 9:14 pm

    Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in fact was a amusement
    account it.
    Look advanced to more added agreeable from you! By the way, how could we communicate?

    Like

  10. Johnb896 permalink
    May 12, 2014 1:35 pm

    Excellent blog here! Also your web site loads up very fast! What web host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my website loaded up as quickly as yours lol fedafeegfbde

    Like

Trackbacks

  1. Tell Amazon to Stop Selling Foie Gras | Illuminate

Leave a comment