A success for animal rights activists, a nightmare for gourmets: the US metropolis of New York bans the controversial delicacy foie gras. The city council voted on Wednesday for a law banning the sale of foie gras from October 2022.
Violations are said to result in fines of between $ 500 and $ 2,000 per violation. The law has yet to be signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“This is a historic day for animal rights in New York City,” said Matthew Dominguez of the welfare group Voter for Animal Rights. Foie gras producers, however, announced legal action against the ban.
“We’re going to give them a big kick in the buttocks in court,” said the founder of the Hudson Valley Foie Gras producer, Izzy Yanay. «I have 400 people who have been working for me for 30 years. A tragedy awaits these people. ” It was only in January that the US Supreme Court upheld a ban on foie gras in the state of California after a 15-year legal battle.
While foie gras is considered a delicacy, animal rights activists criticize the fact that ducks and geese have to suffer when fattening: Before slaughter, the animals are force-fed with grain for several weeks until their livers are completely fat and swollen many times over. Farmers reject the allegations of the animal rights activists as excessive. The production of foie gras is banned in some countries, including Denmark, Great Britain and Australia.
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