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Diseases
The report mentions that the enlargement of the liver is a pathological
complaint (an illness that is induced, but an illness nevertheless),
which is confirmed by the fact that the web-footed birds died
if the force-feeding continued, even if this were only for a few
more days. The report notes that nourishment by force-feeding
makes geese and ducks suffer, subjecting them to anxiety, stress
and pain.
Large number of deaths
The report indicates that animals suffer from fractures (from
30% to 70%) and that individual cages should be banned due to
the tremendous discomfort that they cause. It also underlines
that the mortality rate is very high: the death rate prior to
slaughtering can reach up to 15%, but the average is between 2%
and 4%, which is already 10 to 20 times higher than the “standard”
death rate of around 0.2% for web-footed birds that are not force-fed.
Criticism
This highly critical text was drawn up by scientists, several
of whom were French. It immediately raised concerns on the part
of producers. Page 52 of the report consequently states, “As
a growing number of French people are becoming concerned by animal
welfare, it looks likely that foie gras sales will be affected…[…].
If no publicly recognised steps are taken with a view to improving
animal welfare, foie gras sales could fall slowly or rapidly.”
The report does not call for an outright ban on force-feeding,
fearing that this could lead to the emergence of a black market.
It does, on the other hand, demand that industrial force-feeding
with machines should at least be banned.
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