NEWS AND COMMENT: Once again, this Conservative government is letting down the people who voted for them and animals. They’ve reneged on their promises to improve animal welfare. Imports of foie gras were due to be banned in 2022 under the Animals Abroad Bill. That bill was supported by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park and Boris Johnson’s wife Carrie. She, in fact, was the driving force for improved animal welfare in the UK and one of her friends is Lord Goldsmith. Goldsmith has been sacked and Boris Johnson was pushed out of government and out of political life.
This has left the Conservative party bereft of animal welfare advocates which in turn has resulted in the shelving of the Animals Abroad Bill. It has fizzled out leaving the government accused of being out of touch with the British population who are – as you can see from the headline – demanding that imports of inhumane foie gras are banned as was planned under the bill.
In a recent Commons debate, Giles Watling, the Conservative MP for Clacton, said that supporting foie gras imports risked the Conservative party appearing to be out of touch, which it is by the way.
A YouGov poll commissioned by Animal Equality UK and reported on in The Times today, found that almost 9 in 10 British citizens support a ban on foie gras in the UK.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) say that they are considering if any further steps can be taken. A very vague, noncommittal statement which means that they are going to kick the can down the street and into the long grass and doing nothing about it.
The Times reports that a freedom of information request indicates a highly non-committal approach by Defra. They’ve met no external stakeholders between January and June this year for example.
The executive director of Animal Equality UK, Abigail Penny, said: “It’s time for ministers to heed the moral call and put an end to UK imports of foie gras. As animal lovers we must have no role in funding this inhumane practice.”
Defra, in an apparent defence of their attitude, said that it was gathering information “in line with the government’s commitment to improving animal welfare standards”. They said that Britain was a world leader in animal welfare standards.
Comment: that’s what Defra say. This is about walking the walk and not talking the talk. It’s about doing something rather than waffling on about it endlessly. The people want genuine change. They want to see something done about this inhumane treatment of ducks.
Why is foie gras inhumane?
Foie gras is considered by many animal advocates and even people who are not involved in animal advocacy or animal welfare, to be cruel because of the way it is produced which entails the force-feeding of ducks by inserting a long metal or plastic tube into their oesophagus and pumping large amounts of food directly into the stomach. It’s done 2-3 times a day for several weeks. It makes the liver tastier for humans.
Of course, the birds may experience pain and respiratory problems. The process may damage the oesophagus and digestive system.
The force-feeding leads to rapid growth of the bird’s liver. It can result in hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease). This is a serious disease. It impairs the function of the liver and can be painful and potentially life-threatening. It is a disease in humans which is considered to be very serious and, in this instance, it is being created purposefully because humans are abusing animals.
The ducks are kept in small individual cages which prevents natural behaviours which in turn will produce physical and psychological distress.
The production of foie gras should be stopped worldwide permanency.
