Mercy for Animals has released undercover video footage, allegedly filmed at Hudson Valley Foie Gras in Ferndale, New York, whose products are sold on the Amazon US website.
The group claimed that the footage showed ducks being treated badly and suffering after being force fed. It said that Amazon should follow the lead of other retailers and stop selling foie gras altogether.
“It doesn’t take a scientist to understand that foie gras production is cruel and unjustifiable. Leading chefs, restaurants and grocery retailers, including Costco, Safeway, Wolfgang Puck, Giant Eagle and Target, refuse to sell foie gras due to its inherent cruelty,” it said.
“Unfortunately, Amazon.com – the world’s largest online retailer – perpetuates this blatant animal abuse by continuing to sell foie gras worldwide. Amazon.com has both the power and ethical responsibility to help end the cruel force-feeding of ducks by ending the sale of foie gras.”
Mercy for Animals is now asking consumers to sign a petition urging Amazon to stop selling foie gras products.
“In the past, Amazon has barred the sale of whale meat, shark fin soup, and animal fighting videos. It’s time for Amazon to implement an ethical policy against the sale of foie gras too. No socially responsible company should be supporting this type of blatant cruelty to animals,” it said.
However, Hudson Valley’s operations manager Marcus Henley told The Huffington Post that the video footage was a “misrepresentation” of the company, and that its mortality rates were around the same as a chicken operation. He denied that the foie gras production process was cruel.