Pamela Anderson Urges French Assembly to Ban Foie Gras Cruelty
Today, the French Deputy Minister of Ecology introduced a proposed law to ban the force-feeding of animals, and to help kick off the debate, he invited animal rights activist and superstar Pamela Anderson to address ministers in Paris.
The proposed bill is backed by studies into the cruelty of force-feeding ducks and geese, a practice that is banned in the UK but occurs in France for the production of foie gras. To make foie gras, huge amounts of grain and fat are pumped into birds’ stomachs through pipes that are rammed down their throats several times a day. Their distended livers press against their lungs, making breathing difficult and causing them to pant constantly. In her speech, Pamela explained:
[W]e need to evolve beyond barbarism and ignorance, and to be blunt, foie gras is simply a diseased liver and that disease is called hepatic steatosis or fat liver disease. What this means is that these animals are forced to suffer excruciating pain and diarrhea, inflammations and injures throughout their short lives until the day they are slaughtered. What we see in the stores are sterile tins of a product all packaged neat and pretty, masking the reality of what is really inside.
Over 80 French animal welfare and animal rights organisations, including the Brigitte Bardot Foundation and PETA France, have condemned the suffering and thousands of groups worldwide, including PETA UK and the Pamela Anderson Foundation, are campaigning against the cruel product. And a poll conducted in December found that record numbers of French citizens support a ban on force-feeding. Pamela continued:
Historically France has blazed a path on many fronts for human rights, for freedom, for conservation and the environment. Now is the time to champion the rights of animals to be free of suffering.
I would like to respectfully request that France embrace the qualities of compassion, empathy and respect for the lives of animals. I would like to respectfully call for the abolition of an industry that profits from horrific misery and abuse to produce a product that is toxic to not just the bodies of those that consume it but is also toxic to the hearts and souls of all of humanity.
What You Can Do
While foie gras production is illegal in the UK, it’s still legal to sell the foodstuff here. PETA is calling on all businesses still profiting from the abuse of birds to get with the times and remove this cruelly produced item from their menus.
If you spot a restaurant, hotel or shop that still sells foie gras, please send the business a polite e-mail asking its owners to stop supporting cruelty. Do let us know when you’ve contacted a company – we’d love to hear how you get on!
