If you haven’t already snagged a copy of this week’s Hello! magazine, it’s time you picked up your purse and headed to the shop. Pronto. For gracing the pages of this issue, is the one and only Sir Roger ‘James Bond’ Moore, writing all about his favourite (or I should say, his pet peeve) subject – the foie gras industry.

With a full page feature, written by the foie-gras foe himself, and photos of the cruel industry, it’s sure to turn a few heads and stop readers in their tracks. And the former 007 agent is certainly not one to shy away from the gruesome details, as he writes of the investigation video that he narrated for PETA, “Some of the birds have holes in their necks from pipe injuries, many have bloody beaks and mangled wings, and others are dangling by wires with blood spilling from their necks.” His principal target is, of course, Selfridges, of which he says, “I have informed Selfridges owner Galen Weston that until his store stops this disgusting product, I will have no choice but to shop elsewhere… I enclosed the PETA video, in the hope that it will open his eyes to the cruelty he is supporting by selling foie gras”.

But of course the feature does also throw in a few dodgy Bond puns that I’ve resisted here, just for good measure. Go buy!

Image: Bond Movies / CC

‘The name’s Bond. James Bond.’ If Sir Roger Moore, aka James Bond of years past, told me he’s unhappy with the state of affairs at my store, I’d sure as hell do something about it. Selfridges are losing his custom until they stop selling foie gras, much like other important figures such as the Duchess of Hamilton, proof that more and more people are turning their backs on force-feeding cruelty and doing something to beat it.

Here’s the letter Roger sent to the chair of Selfridges. This entry will self-destruct in 5…4…3…2…

13 May 2008

Dear Mr Weston,

I was recently informed by my friends at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that Selfridges sells foie gras. I am writing to urge you to pull this cruel product from store shelves.

As you know, foie gras (“fatty liver”) is made from the grotesquely enlarged livers of male ducks and geese – it is arguably one of most cruelly produced food products in the world. PETA’s undercover videos of foie gras production show birds kept in tiny wire cages or packed into sheds. Two or three times every day, 4 pounds of grain and fat are pumped into the birds’ stomachs through pipes that are forced down their throats. This force-feeding causes their livers to become diseased and swell to up to 10 times their normal size. The pipes sometimes puncture the birds’ throats, and the massive amounts of food can rupture their internal organs. Foie gras is so cruel that its production has been banned in 15 countries, including the UK, and 60 per cent of Britons believe foie gras sales should be banned outright.

Please take a few minutes to watch the enclosed video and then let me know if you will stop selling this disgusting product. Until I hear from you, I will have no choice but to boycott Selfridges and shop elsewhere during my frequent trips to London.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Sir Roger Moore

PETA US worked with Burger King on animal welfare for eight years, so when we heard that their UK stores were going to be selling foie gras, we immediately contacted BK headquarters in the US to ask them to ensure that this did not go forward. The plan, according to numerous newspapers, was to sell an £85 burger which would be topped with foie gras. As you probably know by now, foie gras is the cruelly obtained enlarged, diseased liver of geese and ducks, force-fed to produce a ‘delicacy’. Everyone from Prince Charles to the Duchess of Hamilton and every supermarket in the UK has banned or spoken out against foie gras, so it would have been a curious decision for Burger King to sell the stuff.

Anyway, we heard back almost immediately from Burger King in the UK, who sent us this statement:

“Burger King’s most expensive burger is still in the development stages and no ingredients were 100% confirmed when the story went out to press. However, we can confirm that foie gras will not be used as part of the burger.”

Whether they abandoned plans after hearing from us or never intended to use foie gras in the first place, this is one more example of a company that is not willing to be associated with the horrible abuse that foie gras entails, and we hope Selfridges will take note. Burger King is clearly a more ethical company than Selfridges.

Ole Mr Kelly at Selfridges sure is getting a lot of post from the animal rights world at the moment. PETA has got together with a number of other organisations, forming a coalition, to request that the store stops selling foie gras effective immediately. No more stalling, no more cruelty – simply removing it from their shelves and letting the ducks and geese get on with their lives. The letter below is written by PETA, Animal Aid, Compassion In World Farming, Viva! and others – isn’t it great to see us all work together on such an important issue? Aww, group hug!

23 April 2008

Paul Kelly, CEO
Selfridges & Co

Dear Mr Kelly,

We are writing to you today as a coalition of animal protection groups to ask that you stop defending foie gras production and follow the lead of Prince Charles, every grocery chain in the UK, House of Fraser, Waitrose and others by ending foie gras sales at Selfridges.

Every animal protection organisation in the world condemns the cruelty of foie gras production – a practice so abusive to animals that 15 governments have come to an agreement that it should not be produced in their countries.

As you might know, the European Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (SCAHAW) did an extensive study of the science. SCAHAW catalogued a long list of ways in which foie gras production causes pain and distress in animals, including the following:

1. The insertion of the force-feeding pipe can cause serious injury.

2. Liver structure and function in force-fed birds are severely altered and compromised.

3. The increase in liver size causes the abdomen to expand, making walking and breathing difficult.

SCAHAW concluded that force-feeding “is detrimental to the welfare of the birds”. They recommended that:

No process should be used that results in an increase in liver size such that its function is significantly modified or that it causes increased mortality, pain or distress.

No feeding procedure should be used that results in substantial discomfort.

Foie gras production breaches both these recommendations.

Please see the attached document, which details the scientific consensus – foie gras production has no place in an ethical society, and foie gras sales have no place in an ethical store.

Sincerely,

Ross Minett, Campaigns Director
Advocates for Animals

Andrew Tyler, Director
Animal Aid

John Callaghan, Director of Programmes
Compassion in World Farming

Mark Glover, Director
Humane Society International (UK)

Marie-Claire Macintosh, Head of Programmes
Four Paws UK

Ingrid E Newkirk, Managing Director
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Europe

Juliet Gellatley, Founder and Director
Viva!

Paul Rainger, Head of Farm Animals Programme
World Society for the Protection of Animals

Now I’m not officially meant to be blogging about the Proggy Award winners for 2008 yet (proggy stands for progress); the winners know who they are, we know who the winners are, but that’s about it. Coming soon is a swanky online feature that you’ll be able to see on Peta.org.uk, much like last year’s feature. But alas it is not available for poring over yet, so think of this as a special treat.

Saying that however, when I received this photo in my inbox yesterday I just couldn’t resist sharing it with my Fish & Chimps readers.

This is Councillor Paul Blanchard of York, and he is the Proggy Award winner for our Most Progressive Politician category. He was absolutely fundamental in getting foie gras banned from York Council’s offices. This was the first council to make such progress in the foie gras campaign, and they have been critical in encouraging other councils like Stockport to follow in their footsteps.

I’m sure you’ll join me in thanking him for all that he does for animals, and congratulating him on winning the award. Way to go, Paul!

Our friend, the Duchess of Hamilton has kindly forwarded us a reply to the letter she sent Paul Kelly, the CEO of Selfridges. Give it a read, it certainly made me laugh – mainly the parts that said:

“… we are in the process of sourcing a welfare-friendly foie-gras.”

And

“[We]… remain committed to offering a welfare-friendly version so that our customers have a choice.”

Urgh, what a load of rubbish [http://blog.peta.org.uk/2008/selfridges-breaks-ethical-foie-gras-promise]. The Duchess isn’t fooled either, here was her response that she sent back this morning:

It’s time to get your act together Selfridges. Keep an eye out for more on this exchange of words, and grab some popcorn while you’re at it as I have a feeling the Duchess won’t be giving in any time soon.

The Duchess of Hamilton has sent Selfridges’ CEO Paul Kelly a strongly worded letter informing him that she and her husband, the Duke of Hamilton, will be boycotting the store until it stops selling foie gras. She also states she will “encourage our friends and family to do the same” – ouch. Now that’s not the sort of letter you want to receive from a lady of high standing in our society. The Duke and Duchess are vegetarians and have done great things for animals over the years, and all at PETA thank them for their kindness and support in our campaign against foie gras. In a nutshell, foie gras is the fatty liver of ducks and geese who are force-fed using long, inflexible tubes. You can read more in the Duchess’ letter below.

Foie gras peddling Selfridges went back on its promise to the press and public to sell a so-called animal friendly foie gras from Spain. PETA met with their execs last week and they were acting very shifty indeed. Dear oh dear. So we’re kicking off our demonstrations in front of their Oxford Street store again, starting with a great one today.

I have some very exciting news: Prince Charles has instructed all his chefs to remove foie gras from menus at Royal residencies. One of his favourite shops in Gloucestershire may also see the removal of The Prince’s “Royal Warrant”, as they also sell the enlarged livers of ducks and geese. According to a source at Clarence House (one of the Royal residencies), “The Prince of Wales has a policy that his chefs should not buy foie gras. His Royal Highness was not aware that the House of Cheese sells foie gras and this will be addressed when their warrant is reviewed”.

You can learn more about the cruelty of foie gras here.

As The Prince is probably aware, no supermarkets in the UK sell foie gras and its production is actually prohibited here – so there is no excuse to continue serving it, “delicacy” or not. Well done, Charles!

Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges both also have a Royal Warrant. Please contact them and tell them to drop foie gras. Click here to contact Selfridges, and click here to contact Fortnum & Mason.

Image: Splendour / Creative Commons

Luxury store Fortnum & Mason (F&M) have announced to PETA that they will no longer sell duck foie gras. This is arguably better than nothing, so thanks to F&M for pulling their finger out and making some changes to their policy. Now they just need to go the rest of the way and remove all foie gras products from their shelves.

No bird, whether a duck, goose or any other bird for that matter, should suffer for the dinner table - foie gras is simply unacceptable. F&M appear to realise that force-feeding is wrong based on this recent decision but after many, many months pursuing the managing director we got this bog-standard reply:

“Thank you for your email regarding the sale of foie gras by Fortnum & Mason. As part of our normal review process for provenance and product quality we have visited our supply base and made a number of changes. Firstly, we have decided to cease the sale of duck foie gras, from intensively reared birds. We have also reviewed our supply base for goose foie gras and now have only two specific French suppliers, whom we have worked with to ensure that the production standards are of the highest levels. We have no plans to further review our foie gras offering.”

A few comments based on this email –

• Firstly, the only non-force fed foie gras we know of comes from Spain. There is no such thing as humane force-feeding. To say their two French suppliers have standards of the highest level isn’t true. Shoving a pipe down a bird’s throat and forcing excessive amounts of fat and grain into the stomach is cruelty – plain and simple, as documented by our friends at Stop Gavage.

• No UK supermarkets sell foie gras. Harvey Nichols removed it from their shelves after hearing from PETA (though they do continue to still serve it in their restaurants). York, Bolton, Norwich and Stockport councils have all voted in favour of a foie gras sales ban.

• The production of foie gras is so cruel it is prohibited in the UK and 14 other countries. If it’s illegal to produce, why should it be sold here?

So it would appear we’re getting there but there is still work to be done. I’ll keep you posted. And if you’d like to help, please contact F&M on:

Beverley Aspinall, Managing Director
Fortnum & Mason plc
181 Piccadilly
London
W1A 1ER
United Kingdom
+44(0)20 7734 8040
+44(0)20 74373278 (fax)
Beverley.aspinall@fortnumandmason.co.uk