I BELIEVE that if many people knew how much suffering was caused by the cruel methods involved in the production of the so-called luxury food, pat de foie gras, they would no longer choose to eat it.

Pat de foie gras literally means pat from fat livers. It is produced by force-feeding ducks and geese to enlarge their livers. A goose, for example, will be held between an operator's legs or restrained in some form of clamping device with its neck extended.

A metal tube up to 40cm long is then forced down the bird's throat. Food is then forced down the tube from a funnel into the bird's stomach. Birds are force-fed up to 2.7kg (6lb) of food each day - the equivalent of a human being made to eat 12.5kg (28lb) of cooked spaghetti a day!

Pat de foie gras is not produced in the UK. It is, however, imported from countries with lower farm animal welfare standards such as France and Belgium.

Can I appeal to people to help by not buying pat de foie gras. Also, let us know if you see it on sale and we will inform the establishment of the cruelty involved in its production.

ROSS MINETT, Campaigns Officer, Compassion in World Farming, Charles Street, Petersfield, Hants.

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