In the months of October and November, there has been a crossing of writings between the Sumar Plurinational Group and the Government on account of the force feeding of ducks and geese to obtain foieone of the foods traditionally most valued in haute cuisine and, on the other hand, increasingly within the reach of the common population. In mid-October, Sumar recorded a series of parliamentary questions in writing with the idea of asking the Executive to limit these practices to prevent the suffering of these animals. However, the PSOE has responded with a negative. There will be no changes to the legislation.
The truth is that the first movement in this sense was not carried out by Sumar, but by the Animal Equality Foundation. On October 8, Francisco Javier Moreno Belmonterepresentative of said entity, presented a letter addressed to the Government and to the Board and deputies of the Agriculture Commission announcing that his foundation had collected 102,217 signatures to call for “an end to force-feeding for the production of Foie gras in Spain”.
In the letter, Animal Equality describes this practice as “one of the most cruel” and that “it generates more suffering for animals in the livestock industry.” In fact, Spain is one of the only five European countries in which force-feeding ducks and geese to produce foie. Furthermore, only France, Bulgaria, Belgium and Hungary they allow it. From the foundation they insist that Spain must be “at the forefront of Europe” regarding animal welfare and that is why they ask that legislative reforms be carried out to prohibit the practice and that “the interest in the protection of animals” of Spanish citizens is reflected in government action.
Sumar took the baton. In the Congress of Deputies, there is a tool available to all parliamentary groups that consists of registering written questions to the Government to ask you to take a position on a specific issue and even to urge you to take some action. Typically, they are used as a measure of pressure on the Executive.
Thus, on October 15, Sumar recorded a battery of questions insisting to the Government along the same lines as the Animal Equality Foundation. Specifically, he pointed out that the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Welfare of the European Union concluded in 1998 that force feeding is harmful to birds.
In the writing, they explain that the practice, used in ducks and geese to fatten their livers – from which the foie― “involves introducing a metal tube down their throats and administering large amounts of food, which causes suffering and diseases, such as hepatic steatosis.” In addition, they also abound in the rarity that Spain, unlike countries like Italy, Argentina, Austria either Germanycontinue allowing the practice.
Sumar, through his deputy Nahuel Gonzalez (United Left), asks the Executive, specifically, about its position on the issue in light of the data and asks if it intends to address some type of legislative reform or if you consider deleting the Foie gras of the menus of banquets and official receptions. All this, taking into account that article 333 bis of the Civil Code obliges the owners of the animals to ensure your well-being.
According to official government data, around one million ducks were raised in Spain in 2019 and 600 tons of foie.
Government response
The Executive’s response arrived on November 22 and It was brief. In a document to which this media has had access, the Government explains that the forced feeding to which Sumar and the Animal Equality Foundation refer is subject to National program for official control of animal welfare in livestock farms and animal transport and they also emphasize that the European Union does not prohibit it.
On the other hand, they argue that “given the need to guarantee the internal market and avoid situations of competitive disadvantage of Spanish livestock farmers compared to others in the EU, there are no plans to take additional legislative measures”.
From Sumar, in conversation with Publicslip that “it is quite disappointing that a progressive ministry is not at least concerned for abusive practices with animal rights that are beginning to be regulated in Europe” and they commit to “continue working” to achieve this legislative change that prohibits “this torture and terrible suffering in animals.
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