Upset by local sale of foie-gras

I was very disappointed to read that the new restaurant La Becasse in Ludlow serves foie-gras.

Foie-gras is the grossly enlarged liver of a duck or goose and is essentially a disease, marketed as a delicacy. Birds raised for this gourmet are force-fed enormous quantities of food through a long metal pipe, three times a day.

This process of deliberate and painful overfeeding continues for up to a month by which time the birds' livers have swelled to ten times their normal size.

The birds can choke to death on their own vomit, or die after food is forced into their lungs.

Foie-gras is not produced in Britain, as the Government has made it clear its production would contravene existing animal welfare regulations, but sadly it is still perfectly legal to import it.

However, Viva! (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals) persuaded the state of California to pass legislation outlawing both the production and selling of foie-gras after recognising the barbaric methods employed in its production.

After an appeal by Paul McCartney, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the ban into law, conceding that foie-gras production is cruel.

Susie Woodyet, Wellington