 Foie gras, French for "fatty liver," is made from the obscenely enlarged livers of male ducks and geese. The birds are kept in tiny wire cages or packed into sheds. Pipes are repeatedly shoved down the birds' throats, and up to 4 pounds of grain and fat are pumped into their stomachs two or three times every day. The pipes puncture many birds' throats, sometimes causing the animals to bleed to death. This horrific and cruel procedure causes the birds' livers to become diseased and swell to up to 10 times their normal size. Many birds become too sick to stand up. Birds who survive the force-feeding are killed, and their livers are sold for foie gras.
 According to the ASPCA, "The birds' livers become so enlarged...that according to documentation by veterinarians, the animals must experience unspeakable pain and suffering. Birds have literally exploded from these forced feedings. The results of necropsies on dead birds that have been force-fed reveal ruptured livers, throat damage, esophageal trauma, and food spilling from the dead animals' throats and out of their nostrils."
 In addition to enduring the cruel process of force-feeding, the birds also suffer the same neglectful and abusive treatment of other factory-farmed animals: overcrowding, mutilations (their beaks are cut off), all their natural instincts and desires-such as interacting in social groups, mating freely, keeping themselves clean, nurturing their young, exploring their surroundings-thwarted, and eventually being sent to a violent death by slaughter. Throughout the weeks of force-feeding, the birds are kept in either a group pen or an individual cage with only wire or plastic-mesh floors to stand and sleep on. Unable to feel the sun on their backs or ground beneath their feet, the ducks are held in cages so small that they cannot fully stand or stretch their wings.
 To add to the atrocity, the ducks and geese are housed without access to swimming water where they can immerse themselves to remain healthy; an inherit need for these creatures. Access to water on these farms is so limited that the ducks cannot adequately clean their nostrils and eyes, which can lead to blindness.
 Foie gras farms are so cruel that force-feeding birds has been banned in many countries, including the U.K. and Switzerland. In 2004, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also signed a bill that will outlaw both the production and sale of foie gras in California. Many restaurants worldwide have removed foie gras from their menus after restaurant owners and their customers learned just how abusive foie gras production really is.
 The Foie Gras Free Pittsburgh Campaign began in January of 2004 and has successfully removed foie gras from the menus and shelves of over a dozen stores and restaurants in the Pittsburgh area! We are consistently monitoring local restaurants and educating the public about this horrific practice.
Please speak out against this practice. If you know of a restaurant that sells Foie Gras in the Pittsburgh area, please educated the owner or manager about this cruel practice and notify Voices for Animals immediately.
(Photos of foie gras production courtesy of PETA and IDA)
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