January 2008
After a PETA member spotted foie gras (and a book promoting it) being sold on the Web site of retail giant Target, PETA sent a letter explaining the horrors of foie gras production and asking that the company stop selling it immediately. Target responded within a few days of PETA’s letter to confirm that it had discontinued the sale of both items!
To make foie gras, a pipe is shoved down a duck’s throat and up to 4 pounds of grain and fat are pumped into his stomach two or three times every day. The pipes puncture many birds’ throats, sometimes causing the animals to bleed to death. This cruel procedure causes the birds’ livers to become diseased and to swell to up to 10 times their normal size. The birds are then killed and their bloated livers are sold as foie gras.
Thanks to Target’s compassionate decision, fewer birds will suffer this horrible fate.
