Fois gras is made from the livers of force-fed ducks and geese (Image: Getty)
Labour has been urged to deliver on its pledge to ban “unbearably cruel” foie gras imports amid fears the move could be scuppered by Sir Keir Starmer’s Brexit reset.
New polling shows the majority of the public is in favour of a ban on the product made from the livers of force-fed ducks and geese entering Britain.
The production of the pate is already illegal in the UK due to animal welfare reasons, but it is still imported from Europe.
Animal Equality UK, which commissioned the research, warned the Government not to ditch its promise as it negotiates a new food and drink deal with the EU.
The charity’s executive director, Abigail Penny, said: “The message from the British public could not be clearer.
Campaigners are calling for a ban on ‘unbearably cruel’ foie gras imports (Image: ANIMAL EQUALITY UK)
Read more: Labour under pressure to deliver on promise to ban foie gras imports
“Nearly nine in 10 people who expressed a view in the latest YouGov polling confirmed they want the Government’s trade negotiators to secure a ban on foie gras imports, and around one-third of a million have signed our petition demanding exactly that.
“There is overwhelming national consensus that this disgraceful pâté has no place in the UK.
“Foie gras production is unbearably cruel. Terrified ducks and geese are physically restrained as a long metal tube is thrust down their throat – this violent process is repeated, day after day, until their livers become diseased. This is anything but luxury.
“Force-feeding animals for foie gras has been illegal here for over a decade, yet continued imports simply rubber-stamp this extreme suffering abroad.
“The Government made a promise to the public and to these animals to stop foie gras imports.
“Our trade negotiators must be bound by that promise and not quietly set it aside at the negotiating table. The people have spoken loudly and repeatedly. We expect the Government to take note and listen.”
Some 60% said they backed a ban in the YouGov poll of more than 2,000 people carried out earlier this month, while 12% were opposed and 27% were unsure.
The total in support rises to 83% when those who said “don’t know” are excluded.
Animal rights campaigners handed in a petition to 10 Downing Street last week (Image: Animal Equality UK)
Emily Wilson, head of programmes at FOUR PAWS UK, added: “This product relies on the force‑feeding of ducks and geese, a practice that causes immense suffering and has no place in a modern, compassionate society.
“Foie gras production is so cruel that it is rightly banned in the UK, yet it can still be imported and sold. This contradiction must end.”
Viva! founder Juliet Gellatley added that the polling shows the public “sees the hypocrisy”.
PETA’s senior campaigns manager Kate Werne said: “The Labour Party committed to ending imports of foie gras when it came into power, yet this torture in a tin is shamefully still being imported and sold into the UK two years later.”
Brexiteers argued that the UK’s exit from the EU could be used to boost animal welfare, including stopping foie gras imports, as an outright ban was not possible as part of the single market.
Cabinet minister Steve Reed vowed that Labour would “ban the commercial import of foie gras, where ducks and geese are aggressively force-fed” ahead of the 2024 General Election when he was shadow environment secretary.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs has been contacted for comment.