The Ban on Foie Gras: Public Perception, Public Discourse - Essay Example

A pipe is shoved down the throat of the poor animals and a highly unbalanced diet comprising of corn and oil mixture is pushed down their esophagus. This is repeated 2-4 times a day and the birds are confined to a small pen all the while. This gruesome process leads to several problems in these birds. These include pathology of the liver caused by intentional hepatic steatosis, and other pathological complications. Birds suffer several injuries in the throat, and swelling in the esophagus. Further, due to heavy force feeding, the animals find it difficult to move and even breathe in some cases.

Ultimately it leads to liver failure, brain damage, and death of the bird. Statistical evidence shows that the liver diseases caused by force-feeding is responsible for a mortality rate of 10 to 20 times higher than that of normal birds. In short, our society’s belief in rights for animals and treating animals nicely is utterly ridiculed in this entire process. These concerns are genuine and not based out of any lack of understanding. Several proponents of keeping the process for foie gras claim that the birds are actually happy to be force-fed and that they do not endure any pain in the process.

This claim is far too misleading. The process of force-feeding is not the same as the natural way of accumulating fats that these birds are capable of doing. These birds accumulate fats naturally before winters so that they can migrate. However, at the end of this process of force-feeding, the birds are hardly able to move, which is in complete contradiction to the natural reason of birds accumulating fats. Several researches in this field show that at the time of feeding, birds turn their heads away from the feeders to avoid being force-fed – a clear indication that they are not happy getting force-fed.

Besides, the condition of the birds is another clue that shows their mistreatment. Broken or distorted limbs are