Ducks and Geese

Ducks raised for meat

The treatment of ducks raised for meat in Australia is a cruel process. Factory-farmed meat ducks are kept inside crowded sheds for the duration of their lives under artificial lighting. The only time they experience the sun, wind, or rain is when they are removed from the sheds and transported long distances to one of the few poultry slaughterhouses in Australia. This usually happens when the birds are only seven weeks old. In their natural state ducks are water birds. They eat, swim, dive, and play in water. However, factory farmed ducks have no access to water other than the water in their drinkers, and instead wallow in their own faeces. Like other factory-farmed animals, ducks are genetically bred to put on the maximum weight in the shortest time possible, and therefore develop various leg deformities as their young bodies struggle to cope with the unnatural weight.

For an international perspective on factory-farmed ducks please visit www.factoryfarming.org.uk/ducks.html

Foie Gras

Foie Gras is a pâté type substance made from the livers of force-fed ducks and geese. The livers are artificially enlarged by force feeding the ducks and geese several times a day. The birds are held down while their bills are forced open, and a long metal pipe is shoved down their throat in order to reach their stomachs. A particular type of food (usually corn boiled with fat) is then forced into the birds via a pump attached to the metal pipe. Many birds are known to die as their stomachs often burst. Foie Gras is sold as a delicacy, yet its production is a form of torture. The cruelty inherent in the production of this food has been recognised in Israel where the Supreme Court shut down the entire industry on the grounds of animal cruelty (see here for a transcript of the Court’s decision).

Almost all foie gras is produced in this cruel way, so please don’t buy it. For more information on Foie Gras please visit http://animal-lib.org.au/subjects/animals-for-food/35-foie-gras.html