In response to public outcry over the cruel and controversial methods of foie gras farming, the U.S 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has justly restored the California foie gras ban!

Foie gras, which is French for "fatty liver," is produced by pushing metal pipes down the throats of ducks and geese, and force feeding them several times a day until they become sick, and their livers "fat" and swollen to many times their normal size.

Far removed from the minds of those ordering and serving this product, visiting a foie gras farm can only be described as stepping into the set of a real-life horror film, in a dark, windowless, and dirty shed, where hundreds of suffering victims are restrained and tortured on loop until slaughter.

The history of this California statewide ban has been incredibly long, messy, and complex.

Here is a quick recap:

October 2003: In Defense of Animals and Animal Protection and Rescue League file a lawsuit accusing Sonoma Foie Gras of violating state laws against cruelty toward animals by forcing its ducks to consume so much food that their livers enlarge to 12 times their normal size. 

February, 2004: Senate President John Burton introduces a bill banning the force-feeding of birds for the purpose of producing foie gras within the state, and also prohibits the selling the product within the state.

September, 2004: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs into law the ban on the sale and production of foie gras starting in 2012, to give foie gras farmers time to transition.

July 2012: California’s foie gras production and sales ban takes effect. Within days, a lawsuit is filed by restaurant and duck farming groups in District Court seeking to lift the ban.

January, 2015: District court Judge Stephen Wilson lifts California's sales ban of on the grounds that it interferes with federal law which “regulates” poultry products and trumps state regulations (note: the production ban is still in place).

February 2016: Then California Attorney General Kamala Harris files an appeal to restore California's foie gras sales ban.

--Now--September 2017: U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Court rules in favor of restoring California's foie gras sales ban, and Judge Harry Pregerson states, "Do you think the duck enjoys that? I think it is absolutely cruel. The people don't agree with it."

Thanks to all of you who wrote letters and made calls to help alleviate suffering of ducks and geese in California. We could not have done it without you!