July 14, 2004

To Whom It May Concern:

Many people are debating the issue of whether ducks suffer or not to produce the gourmet food product, foie gras. As wildlife rehabilitators, when it is clinically necessary, we gavage birds in our care. The majority of birds we care for are oil spill victims and these birds require medications that are administered very gently with a syringe of carefully measured food or medicine. This is done via a soft, thin tube that is very carefully put down the bird's throat so the medicine or food can go directly into the bird's stomach.

We would like the public, and our legislators, to know that what we do is very different from what Mr. Gonzalez, does. There is nothing gentle, kind or careful about the two to three times a day mechanical force-feeding of a pound of food to young ducks and geese to produce foie gras. Anyone who watched Dan Noyes investigative report of Sonoma Foie Gras, which aired on ABC news could see that the ducks were filthy, terrified and some barely alive.

Birds taken from Sonoma Foie Gras were photographed and their severe injuries were documented. The birds experience a myriad of painful physical problems due to intensive confinement and the force-feeding procedure. These include eye infections from not having access to water to bathe, bumblefoot, an extremely painful condition that affects webbed feet having only hard surface to stand on, keel sores, from only having a hard surface to rest on, infected cloacas, from confinement in feces contamination, trauma to the esophagus from plastic or metal gavage tubes, and extreme stress from confinement, isolation and fear.

Mr. Gonzalez has argued that wild birds gorge themselves prior to migration, so force-feeding to make foie gras is "natural". This has no basis in reality. Wild birds that migrate, feed over long periods of time to prepare for flight. They don't gorge themselves to the point of sickness, because if they did, they wouldn't be capable of migration. They adjust their intake according to their needs. The ducks that Sonoma Foie Gras force-feeds are 12 weeks old, and domestic breeds incapable of flight.

Mr. Gonzalez has also claimed a duck's esophagus expands to swallow large prey, so the metal tubes shoved down their throats don't cause pain. Ducks don't eat large prey; they dabble on the water, sifting small pieces of food through their bills. Domestic ducks on a pond would also feed this way. The largest "prey" they would consume would be a snail or mollusk, which is usually crushed before consuming.

In conclusion, we suggest that if it is natural for domestic ducks to gorge themselves, then the producers should let them. Why force-feed them if they will do it themselves? And, the argument that the owners of Sonoma Foie Gras will go out of business if they are not allowed to produce foie gras is specious. They will still be able to raise ducks, sell duck meat, and eggs just like any other family farm in California.

Sincerely,
Jay Holcomb, Director
Karen Benzel, Media Relations/Public Affairs Director
International Bird Rescue Research Center