Today most foie gras comes from ducks who, during the force feeding period, are often kept in tiny cages. 16,800 tonnes of foie gras were produced worldwide in 1998. The laws of Denmark, Germany, Norway and Poland specifically prohibit force feeding. In the UK and Switzerland general animal protection legislation is interpreted as prohibiting force feeding. As indicated earlier, during force feeding the liver swells to 6-10 times its normal size.
Force feeding causes a fatty degeneration in the liver cells.
Feeding too great a quantity of food leads to diseases such as fibrosis, liver haemorrhages and jaundice. In other words, the birds are being fed a quantity of food which, if they were not slaughtered, would almost certainly kill them. The increase in liver size from forced feeding is so great that the abdomen expands. This makes walking and breathing difficult. Injuries caused by the mechanism of forced feeding Force feeding is carried out by the use of a funnel fitted with a long tube which is thrust down the bird s throat.