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Media
NEWS RELEASE
ISRAELI SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE IF FORCE
FEEDING OF GEESE VIOLATES ISRAELI LAW
Jerusalem, May 31, 2000. In a case that could have
far reaching implications in Israel and other countries,
a panel of three judges of the Israeli Supreme Court
will decide in the next few weeks whether or not to
outlaw the force feeding of geese in Israel to produce
pate de foie gras. On December 1, 1999, Noah - the federation
of animal protection societies in Israel - presented
its case based on pathological studies and expert testimony
to the court.
To produce foie gras, workers grab the geese, hold
them down, stretch their neck upwards, force open their
bills, and shove a long metal pipe down their throats
all the way to their stomachs. They then squeeze a lever
attached to the pipe, and an air-driven pump forces
an enormous amount of corn mixture into each geese's
stomach. Many geese die when their stomachs burst from
their forced feeding. After several weeks of being force
fed three times a day, the geese are slaughtered, and
their grotesquely enlarged livers, -- pale, blotchy
melon-sized masses instead of small, firm, healthy organs
-- are removed to be sold to "gourmet" restaurants.
Noah based its case on paragraph 2 of the Israeli Animals
Protection Act of 1994, which stipulates that no one
shall cruelly treat any animal.
Judaism has very strong teachings on compassionate
treatment of animals. Proverbs 12:10 states that "the
righteous individual considers the life of his or her
animal." Three times daily at synagogue services Psalm
145 is read and it contains the statement that "God's
tender mercies are over all His creatures." According
to Jewish tradition, Moses and King David were deemed
fit for leadership because of their compassionate treatment
of sheep in their care. Many Torah laws, including one
of the Ten Commandments, mandate proper treatment of
animals.
Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, stated:
"It should be obvious that pate de foie gras is produced
in a manner that is in complete contravention of the
Torah's prohibition of causing za'ar ba'alei chayim
- pain to animals (see Maimonides, Yad Chazakah, Hilchot
Rozeah, Ch. 13, m. 8). Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, the Noda
Bi Yehudah, clarifies that causing any cruelty to an
animal while alive, is a desecration of this prohibition
(Noda Bi Yehudah, Yoreh Deah, Resp. No. 10) and that
if food can be obtained in a manner that does not involve
additional pain and one chooses to obtain such through
causing pain to an animal, one desecrates a Torah prohibition.
Pate de foie gras is obtained through the willful desecration
of a Torah prohibition and any truly God-revering Jew
will not partake of such a product which is an offense
against the Creator and His Torah".
A coalition of Jewish vegetarian groups in the United
States strongly support Noah's campaign to ban the force
feeding of geese and are linking it to their efforts
to start a respectful dialogue in the Jewish community
about the many ways that animal- based diets and agriculture
vilate six fundamental Jewish values. The coalition
is urging rabbis and other Jewish leaders to make Jews
aware that the concept of giving an animal a serious
liver disease (fatty liver or hepatic lipidosis) simply
because the grossly enlarged, malfunctioning organ is
touted as a "delicacy" is completely contrary to Jewish
teachings.
Israel is the world's third largest exporter of foie
gras, exporting mostly to France. The Israeli goose
liver industry is worth between $15 million and $25
million annually.
If this court case is successful, Noah will pass on
all of the material in its files to US animal rights
groups, to help them start a campaign to ban the force
feeding of geese in the USA. Such a campaign could involve
several US animal rights groups. Noah wishes to dedicate
this campaign to Chelsea Clinton, the vegetarian daughter
of President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton,
since she refused to eat pate de foie gras at a state
dinner hosted by French President Jacques Chirac for
the Clintons when they were in France. American journalists
reported that Chelsea expressed profound shock at the
idea of force feeding a goose in order to improve the
taste of its liver, and went to eat a salad at a nearby
cafe.
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