Arlene Phillips: Cruel Fortnum & Mason Doesn’t Deserve a Royal Warrant
After receiving her CBE from Her Majesty The Queen last month, TV presenter and choreographer Arlene Phillips is no stranger to royalty. So it’s no surprise that Prince Charles was the recipient of the letter she sent this week asking that Fortnum & Mason be stripped of its Royal Warrants as long as it continues to sell foie gras.
After learning about how birds have metal tubes rammed down their throats several times a day and are force-fed until they become ill to make this distasteful foodstuff, the Strictly Come Dancing judge was dancing with outrage. In her message to the Prince of Wales, she wrote:
I know that, like me, you abhor the force feeding of ducks and geese to produce foie gras. I am writing concerning Fortnum & Mason, as I have learned that the shop, which holds two Royal Warrants, is selling foie gras from a French farm and abattoir from which there is video evidence of grotesque cruelty to animals.
. . .
Holding Royal Warrants should be an immense privilege bestowed only on establishments with extremely high standards. In light of Fortnum & Mason’s cavalier attitude towards animal welfare and for continuing to promote a product that is illegal to produce in Britain, may I respectfully request that you consider revoking the Royal Warrants until it ends its sale of foie gras?
In the past, Prince Charles has shown his compassion by having foie gras banned from Royal menus, so we hope that he will show the same compassion towards the birds abused for Fortnum & Mason’s foie gras. Organisations such as the RSPCA, Compassion in World Farming and the International Veterinary Society – as well as tens of thousands of PETA supporters – agree that Fortnum & Mason needs to stop selling this “torture in a tin”.
