Thursday, December 18, 2008
The nation’s largest foie gras factory farm in the U.S. is Hudson Valley Foie Gras in Ferndale, New York. Most factory farms are under super tight security for fear of "eco-terrorists" (people who dislike cruelty to animals) but Hudson Valley Foie Gras gives guided tours. Compassion Over Killing (COK) has taken advantage of this opportunity and brought a hidden camera on their tour.
The tour was no doubt a watered down look at how foie gras is made but even the censored tour reveals the house of horrors that is Hudson Valley Foie Gras. A statement from COK called described the scene as "a torture chamber for birds—from pipes being shoved down their throats and food pumped into their stomachs to being grabbed by their wings, shackled upside down, and their throats slit."
We can work together to put Hudson Valley Foie Gras and the rest of the industry out of business.
Read how scientists reveal the dangers of producing and consuming the fatty liver.
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1 comments:
I give tours at Hudson Valley Foie Gras.
If we invite you, how can this be "undercover" or "exposure"?
One of the first questions on any tour is, "May we take pictures?" The answer is always: YES. Of whatever you want.
Note to COK representatives: unless you are trying to create a Blair Witch effect, you get much better pictures openly.
The purpose of the tours is to allow people to see the entire process, and not a few selected images. You are causing yourself problems by doing that, because people who do come here, including legislators, stop in the middle of the tour and say, "The activists misrepresented your farm. They lied to me." Keep it up COK.
Also, our feeding program is 22 days. Verified by independent veterinarians. Thus, COK lies blatantly when they say we denied them access to ducks immediately pre-slaughter. And as for repeatedly being asked to see older ducks, first there weren't any and second, we show people what they want and need to see to understand the foie gras process, first to last.
As for the COK view of the kill line, that is the way every chicken, turkey or duck in the world is processed, except we are slower and more careful. If you do not want to kill animals for food, I do not agree, but have some understanding. But processing is not unique to foie gras. Seperate issues. Still, our handling area is under remote video surveillance, to verify appropriate treatment of the animals, as recommended by animal welfare specialists, and our people know they will be dismissed if they do not properly care for the animals.
Thank you,
Marcus Henley
Hudson Valley Foie Gras
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