HSUS Sues to Block Foie Gras Production in New York

	©Farm Sanctuary
	An injured duck at Hudson Valley Foie Gras. Ducks force-fed for foie gras suffer every day.

The HSUS and a broad coalition of organizations, including the Government Accountability Project's Food Safety Program, Farm Sanctuary and the New York State Humane Association, filed suit against New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Nov. 15 to prohibit the production and sale of foie gras—French for "fatty liver"—as an adulterated food product.

Food safety regulations such as New York's Agriculture and Markets Law prohibit farmers from marketing diseased animals or their organs to ensure wholesome food for consumers and to encourage proper care for animals. These laws require animals raised for food to be healthy. The suit comes on the heels of a legal petition filed by this same coalition of organizations in June, which asked the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets to voluntarily declare foie gras adulterated and condemn the diseased livers. The petition was based on more than 900 pages of evidence, including statements from leading avian veterinarians in the United States and one of New York's own state wildlife pathologists.

In the petition, the experts explain how the production of foie gras destroys the ducks' livers, killing a significant number of the animals and leaving others dying from blood toxicity, nerve damage, suffocation and other complications. Video footage of New York-based foie gras production facilities showing dead and dying animals confirms these statements.

The Department of Agriculture and Markets, long responsive to local foie gras industry pressure, declined the request without explanation, thus triggering the lawsuit.

History with Hudson Valley Foie Gras

Earlier this year, attorneys for The HSUS began compiling evidence, including video footage of ducks at Hudson Valley Foie Gras. In August, The HSUS sued the State of New York to block more than $400,000 in taxpayer funds it granted illegally under Gov. George Pataki's influence to Hudson Valley Foie Gras. And in September, The HSUS sued Hudson Valley for hundreds of violations of the Clean Water Act, stemming from the facility's discharge of chlorine, ammonia and fecal coliform into the Middle Mongaup River.

See the Video

Forced Feeding at Hudson Valley

Foie Gras

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