Pearl Brasserie restaurant hoses and threatens peaceful anti-foie gras protesters

dublin | animal rights | press release Sunday May 18, 2008 14:07 by Laura Broxson - National Animal Rights Association naracampaigns at gmail dot com PO Box 11019, Dublin 2

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The Pearl Brasserie restaurant hoses and threatens peaceful anti-foie gras protesters

Contact National Animal Rights Association Spokesperson: Laura Broxson 086 8729 444

On Saturday 17th May, members of the National Animal Rights Association held a peaceful demonstration outside the Pearl Brasserie restaurant, on 20 Merrion Street Upper, Dublin 2. This was to protest the fact that this restaurant currently serves foie gras, which is made from the forcibly enlarged livers of ducks and geese - a 'delicacy' produced so barbarically, that the production of it is banned in many E.U. States, including Ireland.

"Within minutes of starting the protest, we were sprayed with a hose by the staff of the restaurant, leaving many of us soaked - including a 16year old. The Pearl Brasserie staff found this very amusing - they stood at the windows laughing." Says spokesperson for the group, Laura Broxson

"Then the Patron/Head Chef, Sebastien Masi, came out and started threatening us. Even stating that he'd 'do to us' what is done to the ducks and geese"

"We called the police, and they had to explain Irish law to him - that we've every right to protest, and that he has no right to threaten us" she said.

"The incident hasn't put us off though, it has just revealed to us what type of people we're dealing with. We're more determined than ever to get foie gras out of Ireland, and we will be back to protest the Pearl Brasserie again" she added.

Foie Gras Facts:

Foie gras is made from the forcibly enlarged livers of ducks and geese. Only males are used for foie gras, because they produce larger livers. Females are killed upon hatching, by being either drowned, beaten or crushed to death.

A long metal pipe is rammed down the throats of these ducks and geese, 2 - 3 times a day, to force-feed them a total of 7lbs of grain. This soon results in their livers swelling to up to 10 times their normal size - which is actually a serious disease called hepatic lipidosis.

The metal pipe sometimes ruptures the oesophagus, causing many birds to die, choking on the blood that then fills their lungs. The amount of feed pumped down their throats causes enormous internal pressure, causing some birds to literally burst. Others become so weak that they are unable to move or die a slow, painful, and premature death by suffocating on the inhalation of regurgitated feed. In fact, because of the massive toll taken on the birds during the force-feeding process, the average pre-slaughter mortality rate is up to twenty times higher than on other poultry factory farms.

In addition to enduring force-feeding, the ducks and geese also suffer the same neglectful and abusive treatment of other factory-farmed animals such as overcrowding and mutilations (their beaks are cut off). They are kept in either group or individual cages, made solely from wire or plastic-mesh. Unable to feel the sun on their backs or ground beneath their feet, their cages are so small that they cannot fully stand or stretch their wings. To make matters worse, they are housed without access to swimming water even though ducks need to be able to immerse themselves in water to remain healthy. Access to water on these farms is so limited that they cannot clean their nostrils and eyes, which can lead to blindness. They have no chance to carry out any of their natural instincts, which include interacting in social groups, keeping themselves clean, nurturing their young, and exploring their surroundings.

After living an unbelievably horrific and painful life, they then have to go through a violent death by having their throats slit whilst hung upside-down.