Ducklings’ Rights in Boston?
Someone needs to cut Boston’s bookworms a break. First, one of the ducklings from the Make Way for Ducklings tribute statue in Boston’s Public Garden was stolen. Then, the city announced budget cuts that will result in layoffs for 26 library employees.
Since lots of Boston’s book lovers must be duck lovers too, we just might have the solution to save the city’s Mallard brood and the librarians’ jobs. We are offering to pay the Boston Parks & Recreation Department to erect a permanent sign behind the Make Way for Ducklings tribute statue that reads, “Say ‘No’ to Foie Gras!”
No one who’s read Make Way for Ducklings would support the sale of foie gras, especially once they learn that Mrs. Mallard’s close relatives are force-fed by having pipes shoved down their throats until their livers become painfully engorged and their internal organs sometimes rupture. The ducks and geese used for foie gras shiver with fear and pain between feedings and become so ill that they stop preening and have difficulty walking. That several restaurants in Boston still sell this ugly, cruel “delicacy” means that some people apparently didn’t read the book—or are just “ducking” the issue. That sign would be a hard-to-miss reminder of how Mrs. Mallard and her brood shouldn’t suffer for someone’s gluttonous, fatty meal.
Written by Shawna Flavell
