Crackdown on foie gras unveiled as part of animal welfare measures (England)
Kate Devlin, The Independent
May 11, 2021
The government is to consider ways to limit the sale of foie gras as part
of measures to improve animal welfare, ministers have announced.
A new animal welfare bill, unveiled in the Queen’s Speech, will also look
at a crackdown on the trade of the delicacy, which involves the force
feeding of birds and has been condemned as cruel.
Foie gras, which is often served pan fried or as a pâté, has long been
controversial.
Earlier this year Fortnum and Mason announced it would stop importing it
and phase out the last of its stock.
The artificially fattened liver of a duck or a goose, foie gras is made
using a technique called gavage, force-feeding the birds twice or three
times daily, often via a tube down their throats.
The bill will “consider further steps to limit the trade and sale of foie
gras”, ministers said.
The legislation will also ban the importation of hunting trophies of
endangered animals from abroad, as well as implement the Ivory Act to ban
trade in elephant ivory.
And it will end “the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter” as
well as what it describes as the “low welfare practice” of keeping primates
as pets, improve standards in zoos and crack down on puppy smuggling.
There will also be action on pet theft, amid a rise in the crime during the
pandemic.
Mandatory cat microchipping will also be introduced, while the operation of
current microchip databases will be reviewed.
The public will also be educated on how to buy pet dogs and cats
responsibly.
Ministers say they want to “deliver on our commitment to the highest
standards of animal welfare by bringing forward ambitious plans to improve
standards and eradicate cruel practices”.
They also claim the UK can “take advantage” of its post-Brexit status
outside the EU to “go further in protecting our animals, whether on the
farm, at home or in the wild”.
Lindsay Duncan, from animal welfare charity World Animal Protection, said:
“To achieve its ambitions the government must consider animal welfare in
trade deals and continue to raise standards including ending the use of
cages and removing loopholes from their proposed live export ban so animals
are truly protected.
“This is needed not just for the millions of animals farmed and imported
into the UK but also to ensure we reduce the risk of future pandemics and
antimicrobial resistance.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/foie-gras-animal-queen-s-speech-b1845481.html