California lawmakers passed a ban on selling and producing foie gras way back in 2004 on the grounds that force-feeding ducks and geese by shoving metal pipes down their throats, several times every day until their livers become swollen many times their normal size is inhumane.

It took 8 long years for this ban to take effect (due to financial consideration for California’s one lone foie gras producer) and only roughly three years before a legal challenge made its way through the courts and nullified the sales ban, with the production ban still in place. In early January of this year, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson lifted the ban claiming it interfered with an existing federal law which “regulates” poultry products and therefore trumps state regulations.

One month later in February, California Attorney General Kamala Harris (with the support of In Defense of Animals, The Animal Legal Defense Fund and numerous other animal protection groups) filed an appeal to the district judge ruling.

The U.S 9th Circuit Court of Appeals finally began hearing the arguments on restoring the ban early last week. We’ll be following this closely and will report on the outcome.