California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has made a very important statement with the signing of SB 1520 to prohibit the cruel force-feeding of birds to produce foie gras. He has taken a stand for compassion, and said that certain cruelties are not tolerable, especially when they are perpetrated to create an unnecessary luxury food product.
To produce foie gras, ducks and geese are force fed by a tube that is shoved down their throats several times a day. Huge quantities of food are pumped in causing the birds’ livers to expand up to ten times their normal size. The grossly engorged organ pushes against other internal organs making it difficult for the birds to walk or even to breathe.
The cruelty of foie gras has been banned in many other countries, and it should be banned across the United States as well. California is to be commended for setting a humane example, which I hope other states across the country will follow.
Alessandra DeClario