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WASHINGTON---The Humane Society of the United States filed suit Thursday to block the State of New York from spending more than $400,000 to subsidize the expansion of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, the nation's largest and wealthiest foie gras producer.
The suit, filed in state Supreme Court, alleges that the state's use of taxpayer money to underwrite foie gras production violates several state laws and rewards a factory farm that has a track record of polluting New York waters. Several local residents have joined the suit to stop the mega-facility from getting even bigger.
Last month, The New York Times reported that the State of New York is facing a 40% cut in federal funding to protect its citizens against terrorism, a $40 million shortfall that Representative Peter T. King has called "a knife in the back to New York." Just last week, the Times reported that the government is facing a $49 billion gap in funding to pay pensions for state workers.
"New York can certainly find better things to do with the taxpayers' money than blowing it on $20-a-plate foie gras," said Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president of Animal Protection Litigation for The HSUS. "This company is polluting the State's rivers, flouting the cruelty law, and getting rich doing it-they don't need to get a free ride on the backs of taxpayers. These birds are force-fed with plastic tubes in a grim and painful process, and it's tough for any taxpayer to swallow."
The production of foie gras, French for "fatty liver", is widely recognized both in the United States and abroad as employing one of the most notorious practices in the animal agribusiness industry: force feeding. For weeks, birds are force-fed an unnatural amount of nutritionally deficient food delivered via a tube thrust down their throats multiple times each day, until their livers become fattened and diseased. This force-feeding can cause painful bruising, lacerations, sores, and organ rupture. The birds' livers can enlarge more than ten times their normal size, making it difficult for the birds to move or breathe. Often, the birds are intensively confined in filthy warehouses.
In May, The HSUS warned Governor Pataki that the grant was illegal and asked that it be revoked. State officials publicly defended their decision by claiming that the factory farm is in compliance with all applicable state laws. Shortly thereafter, The HSUS filed notice of its intent to sue Hudson Valley Foie Gras for more than 900 violations of the Clean Water Act stemming from the facility's discharge of chlorine, ammonia, and fecal coliform into the Middle Mongaup River.
Two bills currently pending in the New York Assembly and Senate would ban the practice of force-feeding ducks and geese in New York. California and more than a dozen countries have banned the production of foie gras due to the cruelty inherent in its production. In 2004, a Zogby poll indicated that nearly 80 percent of Americans believe the practice of force-feeding ducks and geese for foie gras should be banned.
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with 9.5 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research, equine protection and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy and field work. The non-profit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives and offices across the country. On the web at hsus.org. 8-24-06
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© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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