The production of foie gras (the liver of a duck or a goose that has been specially fattened) involves the force-feeding of birds with more food than they would eat in the wild, and more than they would voluntarily eat domestically.
In modern gavage-based foie gras production, force feeding takes place 10.5–15 days or more before slaughter, depending on species (duck or goose) and production methods. The feed, usually corn boiled with fat (to facilitate ingestion), deposits large amounts of fat in the liver, thereby producing the fatty consistency sought by some gastronomes.
Animal rights and welfare groups
Animal rights and welfare activist groups such as the Humane Society of the United States, the Animal Legal Defense Fund,Speak Out Against Foie Gras L214 and FOUR PAWS contend that foie gras production methods, and force-feeding in particular, constitute cruel and inhumane treatment of animals. Specific complaints include livers swollen to up to ten times their normal size, impaired liver function, expansion of the abdomen making it difficult for birds to walk, death if the force feeding is continued, and scarring of the esophagus.
In 2001, the Director of the New York State Government Affairs & Public Policy Dept. for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which is one of America's leading environmental activist groups, wrote a letter to then NYS Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer, asking that the state's foie gras producers be prosecuted for violating animal cruelty statutes.
Late in 2003, the French group Stopgavage ("Citizens' Initiative for the banning of force-feeding") published the Proclamation for the Abolition of Force Feeding, which asks justices to find foie gras production practices a violation of existing animal welfare laws.Stopgavage manifesto page; foie gras page on the site of Le Quid. For this manifesto Stopgavage claims the support of over eighty French animal rights and welfare associations, over a hundred such associations from 25 other countries, and over 20 thousand individual signatories.
Stopgavage, through its president Antoine Comiti, has criticized the INRA (a French public research institute) for allowing its researchers to receive grants from the foie gras industry for conducting research aimed at contradicting the EU report conclusions.Antoine Comiti, L'INRA au secours du foie gras – Enquête sur une expertise publique sous contrôle de l'industrie, éd. Sentience, 2006. Robert Dantzer, a retired INRA researcher, calls the INRA studies "pseudoscience" and "convenience research"."L'INRA accusé de connivence avec la filière du foie gras", Le Monde 29 Dec. 2006: "‘Il s'agit de pseudo-science et de recherches d'opportunité, conduites par des chercheurs élevés dans le moule de la production animale’, tranche Robert Dantzer, tout juste retraité de l'INRA, où il était précisément spécialiste de ces hormones de stress.".
In 2005, the Animal Protection and Rescue League (APRL), In Defense of Animals (IDA) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) jointly released a video narrated by Sir Roger Moore showing footage the groups took inside the three U.S. foie gras farms and several in France.
PETA wants this practice, which it says is cruel, stopped. Various American celebrities have lent their voices to this public campaign. Most recently in April 2009 PETA released a letter written by television and stage actor Bea Arthur to TV chef Curtis Stone deploring the practice of foie gras.Bea Arthur writes to Curtis Stone over use of foie gras April 27, 2009 The Daily Telegraph
In 2014 Compassion in World Farming partners with other organizations such as the German Albert-Schweitzer FoundationAlbert-Schweitzer Foundation,Gänsestopfleber and the French organization L214L214, Gavage des canards : la Commission européenne ferme les yeux to pressure the EU Commission and EU Agriculture Council to take action against the production of foie gras.Compassion in World Farming, Foi gras
EU Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Welfare report (1998) The report of the European Union's Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare, Welfare Aspects of the Production of Foie Gras in Ducks and Geese, adopted on December 16, 1998, is an 89-page review of studies from several producing countries. It examines several indicators of animal welfare, including physiological indicators, liver pathology, and mortality rate.
The committee concluded that "the management and housing of the birds used for producing foie gras have a negative impact on their welfare." Its overall conclusion was that "force feeding, as currently practised, is detrimental to the welfare of the birds."
The report noted a lack of scientific literature concerning injuries resulting from force feeding and liver hypertrophy, so it relied on biochemical and histological measurements, general aspects of health, and mortality. p.38: Whilst studies of the anatomy of ducks and geese kept for foie gras production have been carried out, the amount of evidence in the scientific literature concerning the effects of force feeding and liver hypertrophy on injury level, on the functioning of the various biological systems is small. It observed that birds with expanded livers had difficulty standing and their ability to walk was severely impaired. The report explained that the "widespread use of small cages in which the birds usually cannot stand in a normal standing position makes it difficult to recognise leg problems and leg pain." It further stated that hypertrophied livers cause discomfort in a variety of other species.
The report explained that birds have a wide range of pain receptors and an elaborate pain recognition system, with a particularly sensitive oropharyngeal area.
On physiology, the report finds that based on studies available, "no definite conclusions can be drawn concerning the physiological activity of birds in response to force feeding" because although "force feeding induced hepatic steatosis in the duck or goose", "hepatic steatosis in the waterfowl is a normal metabolic response" and there was a low incidence of lesions. If gavage is stopped the "return to normal took approximately four weeks". As an economic indicator the report states "it is strongly in the interest of the farmer" to avoid disease as the "resulting fat liver is of no commercial value". It summarizes that "some pathologists consider this level of steatosis to be pathological but others do not" and recommends that research "should be carried out into methods of producing fat liver which do not require the use of force feeding".
The EU report notes that continued force feeding leads to early death of the animal, and the birds are typically slaughtered just at the point that mortality would drastically increase from the force feeding. In the studies it examined, "the mortality rate in force fed birds varies from 2% to 4% in the two week force feeding period compared with around 0.2% in comparable ducks".
On the force-feeding process, the EU committee examined several experiments carried out by INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) to detect pain or distress by looking at blood hormones, and found that no definite conclusions can be drawn from these studies. Other studies looked at behavioral aversion to the feeding process and found that force fed ducks avoided the feeding pen when given a choice, whereas a majority of the control group not being force fed would enter the feeding pen voluntarily. Daily hand-feeding of ducks and geese is normally associated with a positive response by the animals towards the person feeding them; in contrast, the working group observed that ducks and geese in a pen kept away from their force feeder when he entered the room. Members of the committee observed and described how geese and ducks show "avoidance behaviour indicating aversion for the person who feeds them and the feeding procedure," but the committee noted a lack of conclusive scientific evidence on the aversion. p.62-63: Members of the Committee observed that, prior to force feeding the ducks and geese show avoidance behaviour indicating aversion for the person who feeds them and the feeding procedure. After a short period, birds which are able to do so move away from the person who force fed them. However there is no conclusive scientific evidence as to the aversive nature of the force feeding process. In an unpublished pilot experiment by INRA, ducks in cages reportedly displayed less avoidance behaviour to the force feeder's visit than to the visit of a neutral person coming along the cages later. However, in the working group's own observations, "Ducks in cages had little opportunity to show avoidance but sometimes moved their heads away from the person who was about to force feed them."
The report also recommends collection of additional data regarding the health of the animals, feeding methods, animal housing, and socio-economic factors.
EU Panel on Animal Health and Animal Welfare report on farmed birds' welfare (2023) In 2023, a new report titled "Welfare of ducks, geese and quail on farm" was published by the Panel on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (AHAW Panel) of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to serve as guidance for the EU animal welfare law revision. The report evaluated the most common husbandry systems (HS) in the European Union for Muscovy ducks, Mule ducks, and Domestic geese used for foie gras production, among other birds. The practice of force-feeding itself was not evaluated in this report, which focused largely on restriction of movement, various injuries, group stress, inability to perform comfort behaviors, inability to perform exploratory or foraging behaviors, and inability to express maternal behaviors.
During the overfeeding phase of foie gras production, Mule ducks and Domestic geese are typically kept in indoor pen systems. The cages and pens currently in use during the force-feeding phase are typically 2-3 times too small for the birds to exhibit their natural behaviours. Moreover, extra space on open water should be provided to guarantee good welfare conditions.
American Veterinary Medical Association (2004-2005) In 2004 and 2005, the American Veterinary Medical Association House of Delegates, the US accrediting body of veterinary medicine, was forwarded resolutions from its Animal Welfare Committee to oppose the production methods for foie gras. After hearing testimony from 13 delegates, the HOD declined to take a position and left a simple statement: "Limited peer-reviewed, scientific information is available dealing with the animal welfare concerns associated with foie gras production, but the observations and practical experience shared by HOD members indicate a minimum of adverse effects on the birds involved."