New York Governor Grants Foie Gras Factory Farm Expansion!
Former NY Governor George Pataki's Economic Development Agency awarded a $420,000 grant of taxpayer money in 2006 to Hudson Valley Foie Gras, a notoriously cruel company in Sullivan County that force feeds ducks to expand their livers to 10 times their normal size!

New York State Senator Liz Krueger criticized the Governor's decision to support this company in a May 26, 2006 press release. Sen. Krueger states, "The paltry economic benefits the local community may reap fails to justify the way these animals are handled, and fails to show New York taxpayers their dollars will be used in a responsible way. As the production and sale of foie gras is being banned by state legislatures and city councils across the country, now is not the time for the State of New York to spend taxpayer dollars bucking this trend." The Syracuse Post-Standard interviewed Assemblyman Jack McEneny, who introduced a bill last year to outlaw foie gras production: "The production of foie gras is an archaic practice that should be resigned to the darker pages of history books….Taxpayer dollars should not be subsidizing the expansion of cruelty to animals in New York state."

Another New York newspaper reported on this issue, "It's a waste of taxpayers dollars that could be used on more important things," said Gene Baur (formerly Bauston) , president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, located just west of Watkins Glen. "It's a cruel industry on its way out. California recently passed a law banning the production and the sale of foie gras."

The production of foie gras is one of the cruelest in animal agribusiness. Ducks confined indoors in filthy cages are force fed vast quantities of nutritionally-incomplete gruel several times a day for up to a month to purposefully enlarge their livers. The diseased organ is clinically called "hepatic lipidosis", but sold for human consumption as a supposed delicacy called foie gras (pronounced fwah grah), French for "fatty liver". The foie gras industry even admits that the process would be fatal if the ducks were not slaughtered just at the point of death.

During the force feeding process, a metal pipe is shoved down the birds' throat, often causing painful bruising, lacerations, pneumonia and esophagi impacted with undigested corn. Since the birds' livers are grossly enlarged up to ten times their normal size, respiratory stress is caused due to decreased air sac space in their lungs. The obesity makes the birds struggle to move which results in infection-prone open pressure sores to develop and fester on their bodies.

Despite widespread opposition to this hideous production method, including an overwhelming 91% of New York voters, the Empire State Development will award a $420,000 grant to Hudson Valley Foie Gras! This agency is a public authority that answers to Governor Pataki, but not the Legislature. This grant, which is funded with taxpayer money, would allow the factory farm to expand, increasing the number of ducks to approximately 325,000.

What You Can Still Do!
Please contact the current New York Governor, Eliot Spitzer, and the Empire State Development to politely insist that any money from Pataki's $420,000 subsidy that has not yet been given to Hudson Valley Foie Gras be revoked. If you call the Governor's office, insist that you would like your complaint to be logged and that you are opposed to the grant given to Hudson Valley Foie Gras to continue violating NY's animal cruelty laws. Encourage the Governor to listen to the will of his voters, not agribusiness interests.

Governor Eliot Spitzer
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224
Phone: 518-474-8390
Click Here to email the Governor.

Empire State Development Headquarters
633 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10017-6706
Phone: 1-800-STATE-NY (1-800-782-8369)
E-mail: esd@empire.state.ny.us
Online Contact Form for the Empire State Development.