Maryland wants to be first foie-gras-free US state
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Lawmakers in the US state of Maryland were Tuesday mulling a ban on the sale of foie gras in restaurants by later this year, with hefty fines in store for those who ignore it.
A bill that would slap a statewide ban on the production or sale of foie gras -- French for "fatty liver" -- as of June 1 went before the state senate for a reading.
If passed, it would make Maryland the first state to have a ban in place on the delicacy, which is much prized by chefs but decried as cruel by animal rights activists because it is made by shoving a pipe down the throats of ducks and geese and force-feeding them until their livers bloat.
The Maryland bill, sponsored by 13 lawmakers, would ban "force-feeding birds to produce foie gras or hiring another person to engage in force-feeding birds," and would prohibit the sale or transport of the controversial delicacy.
Offenders would be fined 1,000 dollars for every day that they flout the law.
But if the experience of the city of Chicago is anything to go by, a ban in Maryland would be tough to enforce.
Restaurants in Chicago got around a citywide ban on the sale of foie gras, imposed two years ago, by giving it away for free.
And public health officials in the "Windy City," who are supposed to enforce the law, have made it clear that they do not regard it as a priority.
Several European countries and cities have also banned foie gras that is made by force-feeding -- the only way to go, according to purists -- and other US states, including Illinois, New Jersey and New York, are looking at interdicts.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law in 2004, banning the sale of foie gras made by force-feeding, but producers were given a grace period until 2012 to find more humane ways to make the liver dish.
