With your support, we’re making strides in holding animal abusers accountable through innovative legal strategies. Our latest action targets the cruel foie gras industry, which inflicts immense suffering on animals for profit.
Last week, Animal Outlook, in partnership with Legal Impact for Chickens, filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia against DC-based Harvey’s Market for misleading marketing practices. This butcher shop, located at Union Market, promotes foie gras under banners claiming their products are from "humanely raised stock," "all-natural," and "free range." These descriptions are false.
Foie gras, which translates to "fatty liver" in French, is produced by force-feeding ducks or geese until their livers swell up to ten times their normal size. The process is cruel and involves forcibly inserting a tube into the birds' throats to pump food directly into their stomachs, intentionally inducing liver disease. This violent practice causes unimaginable suffering.
Our undercover investigation of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, a likely source of the foie gras sold by Harvey’s Market, revealed the stark reality behind these humane-washing claims. Ducks at this facility are force-fed and confined indoors for their entire lives—a far cry from what consumers expect based on the “free range” and “humanely raised” labels Harvey’s Market uses.
Harvey’s Market advertises its foie gras as being from New York’s Hudson Valley, where Hudson Valley Foie Gras and a second facility, La Belle Farm, are located. Both of these producers are currently embroiled in litigation over a New York City ordinance that seeks to ban the sale of foie gras produced through force-feeding. During this litigation, both companies admitted they force-feed their ducks and house them indoors, directly contradicting the claims made by Harvey’s Market.
Before filing our lawsuit, we sent a letter to the owner of Harvey’s Market informing him that the company's deceptive marketing practices violate DC’s consumer protection laws and asking that it stop making false claims lest we take legal action to protect DC consumers. He refused to make any changes, so Animal Outlook has taken the company to court.
Beyond this lawsuit, we are urging the District Attorney and Sheriff’s Office of Sullivan County, New York—where both Hudson Valley Foie Gras and La Belle Farm are located—to initiate criminal prosecution against these corporations, as well as their owners and officers, for animal cruelty.
Now, we need your help to amplify our efforts. Please consider signing our petition and sharing this important cause with your network. Together, we can expose this cruelty and hold these companies accountable.
Thank you for your continued support in the fight to protect animals.
With gratitude,
Piper Hoffman
Senior Director of Legal Advocacy
P.S. Our legal battles and investigative efforts rely on the generosity of supporters like you. If you’re able, please consider making a gift today to help continue the fight to help farmed animals. Every contribution, no matter the size, makes a difference.
As a non-profit organization, Animal Outlook relies on donations from caring, generous people like you. Every dollar matters. Your support makes a world of difference to farmed animals.
