Many issues reach the appellate courts and many are literally life and death. But the California foie gras prohibition has now become the subject of a notice to appeal a recent district court ruling that overturned the state’s law forbidding the sale of the fatty liver that comes from the force feeding of ducks or geese.
It is an emotional issue, too. California Attorney General Kamala Harris is appealing the ruling based on what she claims is an incoherent decision that falls under federal rather than state law and it has been a grave miscarriage of justice contrary to both the law and common sense
Consider what the Mercy for Animals website says about the miscarriage:
The people of California clearly have the right to prohibit the sale of a product that is the result of abject animal abuse. If production practices are now “ingredients” then state laws regulating food safety, workers’ rights, environmental protection, and countless other important issues would be invalidated by this outrageous ruling as well.Mercy For Animals applauds California attorney general Kamala Harris for her decision to defend this important law and protect animals from being tortured for foie gras. We are confident that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will reject the district court’s bizarre and erroneous ruling and uphold this important law.As documented by MFA, foie gras is the product of horrific cruelty to animals. In 2013, MFA exposed rampant animal cruelty and neglect at Hudson Valley Foie Gras, the nation’s largest foie gras factory farm and a plaintiff in the lawsuit. At this facility, ducks are quickly and violently grabbed by workers who shove metal pipes down the animals’ throats in order to force-feed them. This process causes ducks’ livers to become diseased and swell up to 10 times their normal size.
