RSPCA call to ban foie gras

The RSPCA is calling for foie gras, a meat recently been promoted by Gordon Ramsay's 'F-Word' to be banned.

Their poll found nearly two-thirds of people in Britain (63 per cent) agree.

The production of foie gras is not allowed under Britain's animal welfare laws, but it is still imported and sold in the UK and is growing in popularity.

Gordon Ramsay has already cooked with the meat on the 'F-Word' and this Tuesday's episode will feature Janet Street-Porter on a foie gras farm.

The RSPCA says they hope her documentary exposes the 'awful truth about the production of this foodstuff'.

Chloe Alexander, campaigner for the RSPCA  said: "Foie gras means cruelty. It is produced from the livers of geese or ducks which have been restrained and force-fed unnatural amounts of food to make their livers grotesquely fatty and enlarged. That should be enough to turn anyone's stomach.

"The RSPCA is appealing to consumers not to buy it. If you buy foie gras, you are funding the unnecessary suffering of geese or ducks.

"We are also going to write to chefs, such as Gordon Ramsay, and ask them to sign our pledge not to sell it in their restaurants."

Some facts published by the RSPCA about foie gras:

. The birds are force-fed two or three times a day before slaughter. During this period, most are kept in small cages with their heads sticking out - this makes it easy to grab and restrain them.

. A pipe is inserted down their throats and pulped maize is pumped into their stomachs. This can damage the birds' throats and oesophagus.

. The force-feeding may cause the birds' livers to become swollen to six to 10 times their normal size. This impairs liver function. Death rates can be 10 to 20 times higher in force-fed birds.

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