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Submitted URL: https://animalequality.org.uk/act/ban-force-feeding#report/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
Effective URL: https://animalequality.org.uk/act/ban-force-feeding
Submission: On March 01 via manual from US — Scanned from NL
Effective URL: https://animalequality.org.uk/act/ban-force-feeding
Submission: On March 01 via manual from US — Scanned from NL
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DONATE BAN FORCE-FEEDING Demand the Government bans imports of foie gras made my force-feeding - SIGN NOW! View the full petition here 276,607 people are calling for a ban on the importation of foie gras First name * Last name * Email * Country * United Kingdom United States Spain Italy Germany -- Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Ascension Island Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia & Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canary Islands Cape Verde Caribbean Netherlands Cayman Islands Central African Republic Ceuta & Melilla Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo - Brazzaville Congo - Kinshasa Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czechia Côte d’Ivoire Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong SAR China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao SAR China Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar (Burma) Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Macedonia Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Pseudo-Accents Pseudo-Bidi Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Réunion Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands South Korea South Sudan Sri Lanka St Barthélemy St Helena St Kitts & Nevis St Lucia St Martin St Pierre & Miquelon St Vincent & Grenadines Sudan Suriname Svalbard & Jan Mayen Sweden Switzerland Syria São Tomé & Príncipe Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad & Tobago Tristan da Cunha Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks & Caicos Islands Tuvalu US Outlying Islands US Virgin Islands Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Wallis & Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands Flat/house number and street address Postcode City Tick to be updated on this campaign & receive our e-newsletter with news and appeals. By signing, you accept our privacy policy. You can unsubscribe or amend your preferences at any time. Sign PETITION LETTER We, the undersigned, join Animal Equality in calling for a ban on the importation of foie gras produced by force-feeding into the UK. Foie gras produced by force-feeding is immensely cruel and causes unimaginable suffering to millions of birds each year around the world. The force-feeding process - also known as gavage - involves forcing a tube down the throats of terrified ducks and geese, to shoot inside of them larger amounts of food than they would ever willingly ingest. There is an abundance of scientific evidence showing that foie gras production by force-feeding generates severe physical and psychological pain for the animals involved, not only exclusively when the tube is inserted in their throats, but also during other times throughout their short lives. The production process causes their livers to swell to ten times their natural size, at which point the animal’s diseased liver is sold and marketed as foie gras. In a letter dated 15th April 2020, we were pleased to see that Lord Goldsmith acknowledged the grave concerns raised by the practice of force-feeding. You stated: ‘The production of foie gras from ducks or geese using force feeding (known as gavage) raises serious animal welfare concerns’ and noted that the Government recognises ‘the strength of feeling on this issue’. And there is indeed strength of feeling. With cross-party political support and 200,000+ signatories joining Animal Equality’s call for a ban, the British public has taken a clear stance on this issue. Strong legislative action is necessary in order to protect animal health and welfare, and public morality in British society. As you will no doubt be aware, the process of gavage is considered incompatible with the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act (2006), as well as The Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations (across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales). Domestic legislation states that: ‘Animals shall be fed a wholesome diet which is appropriate to their age and species and which is fed to them in sufficient quantity to maintain them in good health, to satisfy their nutritional needs and to promote a positive state of well-being.’ And that: ‘No animals shall be provided with food or liquid in a manner, nor shall such food or liquid contain any substance, which may cause them unnecessary suffering or injury.’ Despite this, according to FranceAgriMer - a French Government agricultural body - the UK imports around 200 tonnes of this product each year, with many retailers and delis profiting from this cruelty. Despite your aforementioned reassuring message of 15th April, we were surprised to read that your Defra colleague - Minister Victoria Prentis - stated on 21st April 2020 that ‘any necessary changes required to domestic legislation will be made in a rigorous and comprehensive way after the [Brexit] transition period and will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows’. We cannot see any viable justification to delay decisions for which both you and the Secretary of State have already expressed support, that are widely embraced by the British public, and that would encounter the favour of other political parties. Now that the UK has left the European Single Market, it is more urgent than ever that you act on this important matter and craft legislation now, not later. The British public is expecting you to take action. Your fellow political colleagues support a ban. You yourself have acknowledged the animal welfare concerns relating to this cruel product. We call on you to take this opportunity to speak up for ducks and geese and begin drafting legislation for a ban without delay. We, the undersigned, look forward to receiving your response. Yours sincerely, Abigail Penny Executive Director, Animal Equality UK 1 2 THANK YOU FOR DEFENDING FARMED ANIMALS! Your request will be shared with George Eustice and Lord Goldsmith. Please help spread the word. Share the video and petition with your friends and family. 1 2 THANK YOU! Your actions are changing the world for animals everywhere. Thank you again for your support and we'll keep you informed on any progress we make. For the animals, Abigail Penny Executive Director, Animal Equality UK << Back GHASTLY ‘GAVAGE’ Foie gras produced by force-feeding is immensely cruel and controversial. Production of this so-called ‘delicacy’ causes unimaginable suffering to millions of birds each year. Animal Equality’s investigations show the horrific practices involved in ‘gavage’ - the force-feeding process where sensitive ducks and geese are brutally fattened up using a feeding tube that is forced down their throats. These animals endure severe physical and psychological pain throughout their short lives. The ruthless force-feeding process causes the birds’ livers to swell to ten times their natural size. The animal’s diseased liver is then sold and marketed as foie gras. THE REALITY OF FOIE GRAS PRODUCTION Feeding tubes are brutally forced down the throats of birds in order to fatten them up They are typically kept in tiny, unsanitary, cage-like facilities, unable to express even their most basic desires, such as spreading their wings Their livers swell to 10 times the natural size, causing extraordinary pain FORBID FOIE GRAS IMPORTS The process of gavage (also known as force-feeding) is considered incompatible with the provisions of The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2000, which later became The Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations (2007), which is mirrored across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Over 250,000 Brits have supported our campaign calling for an end to foie gras imports. Various MP's are also supporting this landmark legislative ask, including Sir Mike Penning MP who put forward PMQs and created an Early Day Motion to support Animal Equality in October and November 2020. It is currently enshrined in law that: ‘Animals shall be fed a wholesome diet which is appropriate to their age and species and which is fed to them in sufficient quantity to maintain them in good health, to satisfy their nutritional needs and to promote a positive state of well-being.’ And that: ‘No animals shall be provided with food or liquid in a manner, nor shall such food or liquid contain any substance, which may cause them unnecessary suffering or injury.’ We claim to be a nation of animal lovers, so why are we allowing such an abhorrent product to appear in our shops? While we were disappointed that the ban on foie gras made by force-feeding was not included in the Queen's Speech in 2022, we will not give up. The public has made it clear that it demands a ban on this cruel product, and we will continue fighting for this to become a reality. SPREAD THE WORD Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on WhatsApp PROGRESS SO FAR Following the launch of our campaign in 2017, we have made significant progress towards achieving our goal of securing a ban on the importation of foie gras made by force-feeding: Political support There is strong political appetite for a ban. Animal Equality has secured cross-party backing, with leading political figures in Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green parties announcing support for our demand. With the help of Henry Smith MP, we hosted a reception in the House of Commons and prompted an adjournment debate in Parliament on the proposed ban. In April 2020, following lobbying from Animal Equality and sympathetic MPs, Lord Goldsmith confirmed in a letter that “The production of foie gras from ducks or geese using force feeding (known as gavage) raises serious animal welfare concerns” and is “incompatible with our domestic legislation”. Milestone: Defra sources confirmed publicly in March 2021 that they are determined to implement a ban 'in the next few months'. We submitted an open letter response to this calling for a concrete roadmap of next steps to be shared, with support from cross-party MPs for each country in the UK. Read the full open letter here. In August 2021, having still not received a response from Defra, we submitted a follow-up open letter, again signed by cross-party MPs, demanding to see progress on this issue. We invited cabinet ministers and government officials to a roundtable discussion with Animal Equality and the signatories of the open letter. Public support Known for our undercover investigations, Animal Equality’s brave investigators have captured footage from a number of foie gras farms in Spain and France over the years. These harrowing images show ducks and geese suffering severely in barren, wire cages, with many terrified birds struggling whilst they are ruthlessly force-fed with metal tubes. The British public continues to show outrage and disgust when viewing these horrors. In September 2021, we were joined by actor and animal advocate Peter Egan, Michelin-starred French chef Alexis Gauthier and Animal Equality volunteers to hand in over 225,000 signatures to 10 Downing Street. In February 2022, Peter Egan sent a letter to Lord Zac Goldsmith, Minister of State for Pacific and the Environment, and George Eustice, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The letter was signed and supported by celebrities Ricky Gervais, Dr Amir Khan and Dame Joanna Lumley and urged the UK Government to implement a ban on foie gras made by force-feeding as soon as possible. Our campaign, running since 2017, has now gathered over 250,000 signatures of support, making it clear that the public are eager to see the end of foie gras in the UK. Outreach and peaceful protests Thanks to the help of our dedicated volunteers and activists, our peaceful campaign actions have successfully encouraged a number of restaurants to remove foie gras from their menus, including Tate Modern, Royal Festival Hall’s Skylon restaurant, Wallace Collection’s brasserie, Bluebird Chelsea and Crowne Plaza hotels. Endorsement There is strength of feeling on this serious issue. With support from an army of celebrities and animal welfare experts, our crucial message has been spread far and wide. Alan Carr is the latest in a long list of animal-lovers and celebs encouraging the Government to enact a ban as soon as possible. Other stars in support include Ricky Gervais, Dev Patel, Joanna Lumley, Peter Egan and Thandiwe Newton, alongside respected animal specialist, Emma Milne. THE CASE FOR A UK BAN ON FOIE GRAS MADE BY FORCE-FEEDING A year on from the release of Defra’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare, the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill has now been written into UK legislation, a huge landmark victory for animals. However, further progress to improve animal protection has since stalled. A key piece of this puzzle that is currently at risk is the ban on foie gras made by force-feeding. The production of foie gras was outlawed in the UK decades ago, yet we still profit from and support the extreme animal cruelty involved by importing this product from other countries. This hypocrisy must end. Animal Equality has been working for months on an important document to build a case for a UK ban on foie gras made by force-feeding. Thanks to the collaboration of our specialists in law, campaigns and communications, we have published a report which investigates the public and political support for a ban on foie gras made by force-feeding. The report also lays out the evidence gathered from scientific studies and Animal Equality’s investigations showing the suffering that the foie gras industry causes to millions of ducks and geese every year. It also looks back to historic progress in animal protection legislation to determine similar bans that pave the way for this one. Through examining the evidence, while considering opinions from scientific experts, politicians and the public, one message is clear: the UK does not choose animal cruelty. The question follows: will the Government listen to the public, or betray UK citizens as well as millions of animals? Read the report TAKE ACTION TO END FORCE‑FEEDING SIGN THE PETITION TWEET DEFRA Contact info@animalequality.org.uk 02079 935 348 Jobs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mailing Address Kemp House 152-160 City Road EC1V 2NX · London UK -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Legal Charity no. 1168309 (England & Wales) Terms of Use Privacy Policy Cookie Policy --------------------------------------------------------------------------------