Animal welfare: towards a Christmas without foie gras?

In addition to the fate of female ducklings in particular, the question of force-feeding is indeed a source of controversy.

Some companies develop a production without force-feeding, but they cannot use the denomination of "foie gras" since the latter is defined by French law as "

”.

The designations of the related products are moreover framed by the decree of August 9, 1993 relating to preparations based on foie gras.

French production of foie gras, which represents more than half of world production, therefore generates a force-feeding phase during which ducks and geese are forced to receive large quantities of enriched food for several days, using a long tube inserted into the esophagus.

The breeder will thus obtain a liver up to ten times larger than a healthy liver.

Studies show that the consequences on the health of birds are undeniable: stress, diarrhoea, liver necrosis, lung problems, painful esophagus, injuries and other pathologies.

The mortality rate is therefore increased compared to non-force-fed poultry.

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And in France ?

Despite these findings, French animal husbandry maintains the practice of force-feeding, arguing in particular that it would be as natural as the storage of fat in migratory palmipeds, an argument widely contested by animal protection organizations such as the Fondation droit animal, éthique et sciences (LFDA) which published a booklet entitled

.

But, as the LFDA reminds us, " 

 " under both European and French law.

The directive of 20 July 1998 concerning the protection of animals on farms stipulates that the Member States must take all measures to guarantee their well-being and to prevent them from suffering unnecessary pain or damage.

Thus, no animal should be fed or watered in such a way that unnecessary suffering results, which therefore seems incompatible with the practice of force-feeding.

The French Rural and Maritime Fisheries Code requires that all animals, as sentient beings, be kept under conditions compatible with the biological requirements of their species.

The decree of October 25, 1982 specifies that breeding must not cause any avoidable suffering or any harmful effect on the health of the animal which must receive a healthy diet, provided in sufficient quantity,

at appropriate intervals to maintain good health and meet nutritional requirements.

The disrespect of these provisions is sanctioned by the Penal Code which punishes in particular the fact of voluntarily exercising ill-treatment towards a domestic animal, a necessity which cannot seriously be constituted by the sole gustatory pleasure of man.

If the controversies therefore persist, the fact remains that six out of ten French people say they are in favor of the ban on force-feeding, as shown by a study commissioned by the L214 association and made public at the end of 2018. In addition, the recommendation adopted by the Standing Committee of the European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes on June 22, 1999 stipulates that countries authorizing the production of foie gras must encourage research into alternative methods that do not involve the forced intake of food.

It is therefore ample time to favor breeding methods without force-feeding or, much better, to develop the production of plant products with increasingly recognized taste qualities and above all guaranteed without the slightest animal suffering.

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