AVMA urged to take a stand against foie gras
Last year the AVMA refused to speak out against foie gras, claiming that further study was needed. This year we urge you to take a stand against foie gras.
Last year the AVMA refused to speak out against foie gras, claiming that further study was needed. This year we urge you to take a stand against foie gras.
Veterinarians are
obligated morally, ethically, and philosophically to promote the
welfare of all animals, as defined by AVMA policy. Veterinarians should
assume a leadership role to help eliminate cruelty, abuse, and neglect
of animals in modern livestock production. It is the duty of livestock
and poultry producers, the vast majority of whom are vitally concerned
with the welfare of animals, to recognize and deal with people who are
cruel, abusive, and neglectful in their production practices and to
ensure that those practices that are contrary to animal welfare are
abandoned or otherwise corrected. - The AVMA affirms that animals
raised for food, fur, and/or fiber should be treated and handled
humanely with due consideration to their welfare and well being. - Veterinarians
are encouraged to assume a leadership role to improve understanding and
communication between those with divergent views or misinformation
regarding modern animal agriculture. - The AVMA
commends livestock and poultry producers, animal scientists, and
veterinarians who have advanced the science of animal agriculture to
the benefit of animals and mankind. - The AVMA
acknowledges that all must identify and take steps to abandon or
correct practices that are cruel, abusive, neglectful, and contrary to
the well being of animals.
Ducks and geese, the animals used to make foie gras, are social,
meticulously clean animals who enjoy preening their feathers and
flaunting their beautiful plumage. They are adept swimmers and fliers
and can even travel hundreds of miles each year during their
migrations.
Foie gras is an illness -- it is literally "fatty
liver" disease. It's an indelicate "delicacy," once favored by
gourmands, that decent people now won't touch, once they understand how
it is produced. Ducks and geese raised for foie gras are confined to
cramped, filthy pens and force-fed a heavy grain mixture three times a
day through feeding tubes shoved down their throats and into their
stomachs. Sometimes the metal tube scrapes the birds' throats and even
tears their esophagi; sometimes the amount of grain ruptures the birds'
stomachs, causing an agonizing death. Many of the surviving animals are
too sick to move for hours -- until the next feeding time, and then it
begins again.
Excellent sources of information include, but are not limited to:
http://www.nofoiegras.org and
http://www.GourmetCruelty.comThis year we urge you to take a stand against foie gras.
Sincerely,
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