The Pittsburgh City Council has recently announced a ban on force-fed animal products, according to news, including foie gras — a product made by brutally force-feeding ducks and geese to engorge their livers, and then making the fatty organs into paté when the birds are killed.
In the gruesome process, a foot-long tube is shoved down the animals’ throats two to three times per day, injecting them with up to four pounds of food, according to SAI. This process grossly enlarges their liver, causing extreme stress, pain, and self-mutilation.
The product made from this cruel process sells for high prices all over the world and is considered a “delicacy.”
We applaud Pittsburgh for joining the company of California and New York City, in which foie gras production and sales are banned.
It is our hope that the city of Pittsburgh continues these positive changes and protects the rights of all animals, in addition to those of ducks and geese.
The ban on foie gras initially corresponded with two other proposals against fur products and horse-drawn carriages in the city. While the ban on foie gras is a significant victory, the two other bans were paused until 2024, according to news.
We urge the City Council of Pittsburgh to revisit legislation to ban these issues as soon as possible, validating Pittsburgh as a compassionate community, unwilling to tolerate animal cruelty in any form.
