New York City expected to pass bill banning foie gras

NEW YORK – The sale of foie gras in New York City is about to be a faux pas.

FILE – In this July 18, 2019 file photo, Marcus Henley, operations manager for Hudson Valley Foie Gras duck farm, holds a Moulard duckling, a hybrid farm Peking duck and a South American Muscovy duck in Ferndale, N.Y. The sale of foie gras in New York City is about to be a faux pas. City council members on Wednesday, Oct. 30, are expected to pass a bill that bans the sale of fattened liver of a duck at restaurants, grocery stores or shops. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

City council members on Wednesday are expected to pass a bill that bans the sale of fattened liver of a duck at restaurants, grocery stores or shops.

A majority of council members have signed on to the bill, which also has the support of animal welfare advocates and other critics who say producing it involved force-feeding a bird by sticking a tube down its throat.

But vendors say it could mean trouble for farms outside the city that are premier U.S. producers of the French delicacy.

The bill would impose a $1,000 fine and up to one year behind bars on any restaurateur or grocery store owner who sells foie gras.

California banned the delicacy in 2012. It was challenged in federal court, but a federal appeals court eventually upheld the ban.

Chicago banned foie gras in 2006, but the ordinance was repealed two years later.

Other animal-friendly bills are also expected to be approved at Wednesday’s meeting, including a bill prohibiting carriage horses from working in temperatures above 90 degrees and a ban on the sale, capture or possession of pigeons. /gsg