AR-News: (US-CA) Support Needed for Bill to Ban Foie Gras

[Pam at AVAR]

URGENT ACTION ALERT

California Bill Would Ban Force Feeding of Ducks and Geese, Sales of Foie Gras
Letters are Needed in Support of SB 1520

Senate Bill 1520 has been introduced by Senate President Pro-Tem John 
Burton at the request of AVAR, Farm Sanctuary, Viva!USA, and LA Lawyers for 
Animals. SB 1520 seeks to prohibit the force feeding of ducks and geese in 
the production of foie gras, as well as sales of the product in California.

Foie gras (or fatty liver) is produced by using a tube inserted into the 
esophagus and force feeding ducks and geese excessive amounts of food 
several times daily. This practice intentionally causes their livers to 
swell up to 10 times normal size. Some restaurants serve the fatty liver as 
an expensive food item.
Many countries, including Denmark, Norway, Poland, Germany, and Israel, ban 
the practice because it is considered cruel. In the United States, there 
are only two producers of foie gras, one in New York and one in California.

According to Professor Ian Duncan of the University of Guelph, Ontario, 
"Forcing food down a bird's gullet beyond the limits of its appetite will 
cause pain and suffering... Force feeding quickly results in birds that are 
obese and in a pathological state, called hepatic lipidosis or fatty liver 
disease."

It is crucial that the Legislature hear from its constituents. The 
opposition is already lobbying hard to defeat this bill. Please write a 
polite letter by April 15th to Senator Liz Figueroa, Chair, Senate 
Committee on Business and Professions, State Capitol Building, Sacramento, 
CA 95814, Fax: (916) 324-0917, or email: senator.figueroa at sen.ca.gov. Ask 
her to support SB 1520.Tell her that it is time to prohibit practices which 
involve animal cruelty, especially for gratuitous food items.

Also, please write a letter to your state senator. All senators can be 
mailed to c/o State Capitol Building, Sacramento, CA 95814. If you do not 
know who your state senator is: Call 916-322-9900. Or go to 
www.senate.ca.gov to find your state senator and contact information.

For more information: contact AVAR at info at avar.org or visit AVAR's 
website: www.avar.org


Pam Runquist
Director of Companion Animal Issues
Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights
PO Box 208
Davis, CA 95617-0208
Tel: (530) 759-8106
pam at avar.org

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/ar-news/attachments/20040316/26bb8d88/attachment.html