How Is Foie Gras Made? | Inside A Foie Gras Farm – France, 2018 | Animal Equality

As part of our campaign for a 'Foie Gras Free GB',  
we travelled to France to see 
the production first hand.
It is somewhat what I expected and the gavage 
process was as expected. The conditions that  
the geese live in for the first few months 
of their life are better than a lot of the  
farms I've been into in Britain. Certainly a 
better life than any chicken that you buy on a  
British supermarket shelf. A closer look reveals 
that the birds have had their wings clipped  
so they can't escape from the farm. Many 
were suffering from broken wings as a result.
The marked change from these relatively healthy 
birds in the field who came when the farmer called  
them to the birds in the gavage cage who tried 
desperately to get away from her was very telling.  
Those birds had been experiencing gavage for 
a couple of weeks already, they knew what was  
coming and they didn't want it to happen. And 
then seeing the rows of tiny barren cages in  
the shed next door where the birds spend the last 
three weeks of their lives while being force-fed,  
those conditions would be illegal 
for hens on egg farms now in the EU.  
The geese couldn't even stand 
up fully or spread their wings.
As soon as she approached the the three geese,  
relatively affable though they didn't look happy, 
were directing their attention towards us. As soon  
as she approached they turned away and tried 
to get out, they suddenly started to panic.
One of the the geese was close up, she put 
her hand through the cage pulled it by the,  
by the neck, it started to squawk, hooked it 
through, clamped it over, clearly panicking and  
frightened the poor thing and then she hooked it 
through, stuck this metal rod down it's gullet and  
started to pour the corn in, followed by dollops 
of water. And then she massaged its gullet and you  
could see it kind of going down and her forcing it 
down into the poor creature's stomach. So this is  
the best of it and if this is the best of it in 
my opinion it's disgusting, it should be banned.
The vocalisation was absolutely clear that it was 
an extremely unpleasant experience. The amount of  
food that went in when she showed us the machine 
to start with and she, you know, one or two turns  
was a whole handful of corn, and then she just 
went on and on and on. And if that's what they're  
happy to show you you know I dread to think what 
some of the worst ones are like. But then the most  
shocking thing was they were fairly open about 
seeing all that and then we wandered into the shed  
next door and where the ducks were, I mean they 
just looked ill. Every single animal in there was  
panting, shying away from us, terrified, crouching 
in corners. That was really appalling and as  
we came out the farmer said "oh you're not 
allowed in there", which was pretty clear why.
Those birds were clearly in very poor condition, 
they were terrified. The minute we walked into  
the shed they all went to the back of their cage 
and trod on top of each other to try and escape.  
They were filthy and they were panting and 
it wasn't even particularly hot in that shed.  
Those birds were clearly suffering and that's 
why they didn't want us to go into that shed.  
So if this is the best foie gras production, 
that they're happy to put on public display,  
for families to come and see, I dread to think 
what the worst farms are like. It's clear why  
force-feeding birds for foie gras is illegal in 
Britain. We must end its import and sale too.