Bill ‘Santa’ Oddie Delivers Bag of Coal to ‘Naughty’ Fortnum & Mason

Posted by on November 10, 2011 | Permalink

Much-loved wildlife expert Bill Oddie made an unexpected appearance at Fortnum & Mason’s Christmas window unveiling today dressed as Santa Claus to call on Fortnum & Mason to be good, for goodness’ sake, and stop selling foie gras! Oddie stunned shoppers as he loudly explained that Fortnum & Mason pays producers in France to force-feed geese until their livers become grossly enlarged so that Fortnum & Mason can sell the “torture in a tin”. Oddie also delivered a bag of coal for Managing Director Beverley Aspinall, to whom he wrote in September after she ignorantly claimed that force-feeding geese was comparable to large birds’ swallowing fish in the wild.

“It’s not just ‘naughty’ for Fortnum & Mason to keep selling a product so cruel that it’s illegal to produce in the UK – it’s shameful”, says Oddie. “All I want for Christmas is for Fortnum & Mason to pull foie gras from its shelves, once and for all.”

To produce foie gras, pipes are shoved down the throats of geese and ducks several times a day. Grain and fat is pumped into the birds’ stomachs until their livers become diseased and swollen. Fortnum & Mason’s main competitors – Selfridges and Harvey Nichols – have both stopped selling foie gras completely.

Oddie is one of a long list of prominent figures – including Sir Roger Moore, Ricky Gervais, the Duchess of Hamilton, Twiggy, Jenny Seagrove, Carley Stenson, Peter Egan and Owain Yeoman – who have appealed to Fortnum & Mason to pull foie gras from its shelves.

Please join Oddie in saying “Ho, ho – NO!” to Fortnum & Mason’s sale of foie gras and e-mail the store today.