Makro becomes latest retailer to halt sale of 'unethical' foie gras
Tuesday, 17 July 2007
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The cash and carry chain Makro has become the latest retailer to call a halt to sales of foie gras after protests from animals rights campaigners.
Makro, which supplies the catering trade, has decided not to buy any more goose and duck liver paté while it investigates claims that force-feeding the birds is cruel. "If necessary, we will look for other alternatives," said a spokesman.
The decision, leaked to The Independent, is another victory for animal rights activists in a long-running campaign to banish French foie gras from shops and restaurants.
Last month, House of Fraser department stores joined Sainsbury, Tesco and Marks & Spencer in banning foie gras. A Scottish aristocrat, the Duke of Hamilton, had been boycotting Jenners department store in Edinburgh in protest at its sale of the product, one of the most contentious foodstuffs for animal welfare.
Under an ancient French system known as gavage, foie gras producers push cornmeal down the throats of geese and ducks for 12-18 days before slaughter. The process swells the birds' livers to up to 10 times their normal size. Gourmands love the ensuing rich, fatty taste but protesters say the feed funnels rip holes in the birds' necks and the excessive diet causes early deaths.
Production of foie gras is banned in the UK and several other countries including Germany, Poland and Norway. However, its sale is allowed in the UK under EU rules.
A spokesman for Makro said it had taken its decision after listening to the concerns of Viva!, an animal welfare group. He said: "What Makro is doing is investigating Viva!'s claims and have put a break on ordering any stock until the investigation is complete." Makro added that it would allow its stock to run down at its 33 warehouses.
Viva! welcomed Makro's "ethical decision" to not sell French foie gras and called on consumers to reject the product. The campaigner Justin Kerswell said: "Foie gras is torture in a tin. There is nothing humane about mechanically inducing disease in a bird by forcing a pipe down its throat and making it consume such an abnormal quantity of food that its liver expands many times its normal size."
More than 4,000 tons of foie gras is imported into the UK annually, according to Viva!. Only a few retailers, such as Fortnum & Mason and Harrods, sell it but the paté is still served at many restaurants.
A report in 1998 by EU scientists condemned force-feeding as "detrimental to the welfare of the animals". Some 131 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion to ban its sale in Britain.
