PETA Slams Bbc Over ‘Indefensible’ Foie Gras Promotion

For Immediate Release:
15 May 2012

Contact:
Ben Williamson +44(0)7525 411 722; [email protected]

London – Today, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sent a scathing letter to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) condemning the public service broadcaster for featuring foie gras on BBC2’s Great British Menu and for promoting foie gras recipes on a number of its webpages. In its letter, PETA demands that all foie gras promotions be removed from the license payer-funded service.

“Using TV license money to promote foie gras – a product so uniquely vile that its production is banned in Britain – is indefensible”, says PETA spokesperson Mimi Bekhechi. “The BBC has a responsibility to the public and should remove all foie gras promotions from its webpages and programmes.”

Foie gras is produced by force-feeding ducks and geese up to 2 kilograms of grain and fat every day through a tube that is shoved down their throats several times a day. Force-feeding birds such a massive amount causes their livers to swell to as much as 10 times their normal size, resulting in a disease known as hepatic steatosis. The pipes sometimes puncture the birds’ throats, and many birds suffer from ruptured internal organs, fungal and bacterial infections and liver failure.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the Brit Awards, Wimbledon, Lord’s Cricket Ground and the Royal Shakespeare Company have all pledged not to serve or sell foie gras, and Prince Charles refuses to allow it on royal menus. Almost every major shop in the UK, including Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, has dropped foie gras because its production is so cruel.