Selfridges, the largest department store on Oxford Street, prides itself on its imaginative displays and aesthetic contrasts, but its decision to continue selling foie gras not only lacks imagination but is extraordinarily cruel. Waitrose, Sainsbury's and all other major supermarket chains refuse to carry the cruel product. Despite this, and despite several meetings between PETA and Selfridges executives, the retailer has refused to stop selling this delicacy of despair.
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Ducks and geese raised for foie gras are force-fed until their livers become painfully diseased and enlarged and, in some cases, their organs rupture - abuse that would be illegal if dogs or cats were the victims. Foie gras production is so cruel that it is prohibited in 15 countries including the UK, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Israel, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. In the US, the sale of foie gras was banned in the city of Chicago last year, and the state of California has passed a law banning the sale and production of foie gras by 2012. Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck recently announced that he will no longer serve foie gras in any of his restaurants. Giles Coren, the Times food writer, said of foie gras: "It's a lazy way for a half-competent chef to make his food seem flash." Consumers across the globe have demanded the removal of foie gras from stores and restaurants.
Update: Selfridges now claims it is looking into selling a product made from the livers of animals who were not force-fed, yet the company refuses to stop selling foie gras from birds who were force-fed. Because Selfridges is exploring other options, the company must think, as anyone with an ounce of compassion does, that there is something terribly wrong with force-feeding ducks and geese. Please inform Selfridges that it is unacceptable for it to continue selling foie gras – a product which the company, on some level, recognises is produced in horribly cruel ways.
What You Can Do
Please contact Christine Watts, Communications Director and Paul Kelly, Chief Executive and Director of Selfridges and urge them to stop selling foie gras.
Learn what else you can do to help stop foie gras cruelty.
