New York City mayor signs bill banning foie gras

Selling foie gras in New York City will soon be illegal, a result of a set of animal rights legislation Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) signed into law Monday. 

The New York City Council had voted to ban the dish, made of the liver of a duck or goose fattened by force-feeding, over animal cruelty concerns last month with 42 members voting in favor of the ban, according to The New York Times. The bill will fine violators $2,000 and goes into effect in 2022. 

“New York has sent a clear message to foie gras producers that shoving a foot-long pipe down a bird’s throat and intentionally diseasing and enlarging their liver up to ten times its normal size in order to create some bizarre delicacy is cruel and has no place in our compassionate city,” Allie Feldman Taylor, president of Voters for Animal Rights, said in a release. 

The package of bills also includes a requirement for city-operated animal shelters to post photographs of adoptable animals in three days and a bill prohibiting carriage horses from being worked in certain heat conditions. 

The New York Police Department will also now be required to publish semiannual public reports on complaints and investigations of animal cruelty investigations. 

“I’m proud to sign this legislation that further solidifies our commitment to the humane and fair treatment of animals across our city,” de Blasio said in a release. “I look forward to continuing our work with elected officials and communities to protect animals and build on New York City’s leadership in animal rights.”

New York City joins California in banning foie gras. In January the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the state’s ban on foie gras, rejecting a challenge from producers of the force-fed poultry product.