Foie gras production

21.11.2012

Question for written answer E-010655-12
to the Commission
Rule 117
David Martin (S&D)

Force-feeding for foie gras production is prohibited in most EU countries because of the cruelty involved for ducks and geese. Council Directive 98/58/EC on the protection of animals kept for farming purposes states that ‘no animal shall be provided with food or liquid in a manner […] which may cause unnecessary suffering or injury’.Thus, force-feeding does not comply with the minimum EU standards for the protection of animals.

1. Will the Commission clarify the ban on providing food in a manner that compromises the health and welfare of ducks and geese raised for foie gras, by explicitly prohibiting force-feeding in the Animal Welfare Framework Law that it plans to present in 2014?

2. Moreover, at least two EU Member States which produce foie gras — France and Hungary — infringe the European ban on keeping ducks in individual cages. Will the Commission ensure that effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions are applied to such non-compliant countries?

OJ C 317 E, 31/10/2013