Photos from Voters For Animal Rights, Facebook
New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a historic anti-cruelty bill into law today banning the sale of foie gras.
As a result, New York has become the largest city in the world to ban the sale of foie gras due to the inherent cruelty involved in its production. The law goes into effect in 2022.
As previously reported by WAN, the New York City Council approved the legislation last month by a vote of 42-6. It was sponsored by Council Member Carlina Rivera and backed by a coalition of more than 50 nonprofit organizations including Voters for Animal Rights.
Over 50 NY-based veterinarians—including the Humane Society Veterinarian Association, a national organization of more than 9,000 veterinary professional members—, 30 co-sponsors, over 90 NYC based restaurants, and 81% of New York City voters also supported the legislation, according to a Mason Dixon poll.
“We are thrilled that New York City is now the largest city in the world to protect ducks and geese from the abusive foie gras industry,” Allie Feldman Taylor, President of Voters for Animal Rights said in a statement sent to WAN. “New York has sent a clear message to foie gras producers that shoving a pipe down a duck’s throat and force-feeding them for the sole purpose of diseasing and enlarging their liver to ten times its normal size is cruel and has no place in our compassionate city.”
Ducks in the foie gras industry suffer immensely from ruptured organs, esophagus trauma, broken bones, illnesses, and diseases as a result of having a foot-long pipe shoved down their throats and a large mass of food injected into their delicate digestive system several times a day for weeks.
