OUR CAMPAIGN TO END FORCE-FEEDING CONTINUES…
The Olympics has begun and the Olympic Organising Committee has allowed foie gras to remain on its menu. But the fight to end force-feeding is not over…
For months, we campaigned tirelessly to remove foie gras from the Olympics’ VIP hospitality menu.
Over 70,000 people signed our petition urging the International Olympic Committee and Paris 2024 Organising Committee to get foie gras made by force-feeding out of the Olympics.
Animal Equality wrote two open letters to the Olympic organisers, with one being signed by dozens of high-profile Olympic medalists, academics, and veterinarians.
Advocates sent over 15,000 emails to the organisers and pleaded on social media, urging the Games’ hospitality chefs to denounce foie gras.
Mainstream media outlets like The Independent, Forbes, and Le Monde – one of France’s leading networks – covered the issue.
Finally, we went directly to the Committee in Paris to deliver the petition signatures and call on them to make a change.
Initially we were met with silence. Then finally, the Committee replied, but only to absolve themselves of responsibility and shift the blame.
The athletes will march, the flags will wave, and an electrifying atmosphere will fill the air.
Yet, behind this spectacle, a darker story has already unfolded – a story that we at Animal Equality has tried desperately to change.
In the hidden corners of foie gras farms, ducks and geese have been force-fed and slaughtered for the meals of VIP guests.
Leading up to the Games, tubes were forcefully shoved down their throats. Their final moments were spent longing for freedom – a freedom that never came.
The Olympic Organising Committee chose to turn their backs on ducks and geese who are force-fed, but we will not.
Our fight to end force-feeding around the world continues.
Animal Equality is campaigning to end force-feeding in the UK. Sign our petition now.
ANIMAL EQUALITY’S FOIE GRAS INVESTIGATIONS
Animal Equality has conducted over a dozen investigations into this industry in France and Spain since 2012. We’ve gathered hundreds of hours of footage revealing birds confined in wire cages, suffering from breathing difficulties, eye infections, and broken wings and beaks. In late 2023, Animal Equality shared never-before-seen footage shot by our investigators. The distressing images featured below are a reminder of how urgent the need is to ensure that foie gras is kept off of all restaurant menus, including those at grand events like the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Warning: the following images are graphic
CAMPAIGN SUMMARY
Acknowledging the positive strides made by the International Olympics Committee, with 60% of the menu now plant-based, Animal Equality respectfully urged the Committee members to remove foie gras made by force-feeding from the hospitality menu.
April. Our President and Co-Founder, Sharon Núñez, penned a letter urging the Committee to reconsider this menu choice and extended an invitation to the event’s leadership for a pragmatic and compassionate discussion on the subject matter.
8th July. In a bid to remove foie gras made by force-feeding from the hospitality menu – a collective of concerned world-leading sustainability experts, animal protection academics, environmentalists, athletes and animal advocates wrote a joint open letter to encourage Olympic Games’ organisers and chefs to remove the dish from an event that they say ‘inspires the world to accomplish wondrous things’. The letter outlined why foie gras production has been widely criticised for decades, emphasising the fact that it causes extreme harm to animals, is exclusionary and divisive, is responsible for environmental degradation, poses risks to individual health and global public health, and is unnecessary in a world where an abundance of plant-based alternatives exist.
15th July. Amidst growing public outcry, Animal Equality supporters and concerned members of the public rallied together to contact key Olympic Games decision-makers through a mass email action. With thousands taking part, our important message in defence of animals was louder than ever before!
19th July. With momentum building, and the commencement of the Games edging ever closer, Animal Equality coordinated an online action sharing a delicious plant-based faux gras recipe with the Committee Members and head chefs involved in the creation of the Olympic Games’ menus. With over 1,000 supporters sending a recipe postcard to the Games’ leadership, we showed that there is no need for foie gras made by force-feeding to feature on the menu.
22nd July. Animal Equality and our supporters took to the streets of Paris to inform unsuspecting members of the public about the cruelties involved in foie gras production, raising awareness of the force-feeding practices involved. With the latest polls showing that 74% of French citizens are opposed to force-feeding (2024 poll conducted by 30 Millions d’Amis Foundation), and over a dozen countries criminalising the force-feeding process, the world is turning its back on this needless animal suffering. We proudly visited the Olympic organisers’ headquarters to hand in over 60,000 petition signatures gathered by Animal Equality’s team of professional activists, giving the Committee a final opportunity to do the right thing and remove foie gras from the hospitality menu. Later that evening, we shone a light on the cruelty involved in foie gras made by force-feeding by taking to the streets of Paris and projecting our important message on buildings all across the city. Meanwhile, supporters took to Instagram to send thousands of messages to the chefs involved in the Olympic games hospitality packages, urging them to use their position to help ducks and geese. With just days until the Games’ begin, we implored the Committee to see reason, listen to the experts and not condone this extreme animal cruelty!
26th July. The Olympics began and the Olympic Organising Committee chose to leave foie gras on the VIP menus; in doing so, the Committee turned its back on ducks and geese. But we will not! Our fight to end force-feeding around the world continues.
CHOOSE PLANT-bASED
You have the power to help animals every day. Every plant-based meal you eat saves animals from a life of misery in factory farms.
Start your plant-based journey today.
