News
Get the latest news and updates from Animal Equality

Animal Equality calls for a #FoieGrasFreeGB

As the UK begins to negotiate its exit from the EU, we are calling on Parliament to commit to banning foie gras imports - taking effect the day we leave.
14/06/2017 Updated: 06/03/2025
Foie Gras - Animal Equality

Foie gras is a ‘delicacy’ made from the diseased livers of ducks or geese who have been repeatedly force-fed, a process known as ‘gavage’. Animal Equality has documented the suffering birds endure on more than a dozen Spanish and French farms, including untreated injuries, dead birds in cages with the living, conditions that prevent any natural behaviour and animals in constant and extreme pain.

It is illegal to produce foie gras in Britain because of this extreme suffering. Nevertheless, we still import almost 200 tonnes of foie gras from mainland Europe every year for sale in shops and delis, such as Harrods and Fortnum & Mason. And to be served in high-end restaurants. The UK’s departure from the European Union, and associated freedom to change trade regulations, provides a unique opportunity for us to ban the importation of this cruel product. A YouGov poll conducted at the beginning of June* showed that less than 10% of Brits consume foie gras and an overwhelming majority support an import ban – 77% of those who expressed an opinion. If you love animals and know this suffering is wrong, add your name to our petition calling for a ban on imports of foie gras following Brexit, and share using #FoieGrasFreeGB. Sign and share now at www.animalequality.org.uk/foie-gras/ * All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 2,079 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between  6th – 7th June 2017.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).


Latest News
20/02/2026

Animal Equality has documented new evidence of systematic suffering in the pig industry in Spain, the biggest pig farming country in the European Union.  An investigation carried out on nine pig breeding, maternity, and ‘fattening’ farms in Aragón shows scenes of cruelty and neglect that continue to be ignored by…
13/02/2026

Last year the Scottish salmon industry reported over one thousand weekly lice counts exceeding the industry’s own Code of Good Practice (CoGP) lice guidelines. This revelation comes in sharp contrast to industry claims and just days after a spokesperson for Salmon Scotland boasted to the Press and Journal that sea lice levels are “among the lowest on record”.
06/02/2026

Despite the Scottish Government stating that unannounced inspections of salmon farms are a ‘legislative requirement’, a key regulator carried out none in 2023 or 2025, and just two in 2024; the other regulator does not track unannounced inspections at all. The revelations have prompted accusations that oversight of Scotland’s salmon farming industry is ‘not fit for purpose’.