Bursting From Inside

More than 30 million ducks and geese a year, are forced-fed with huge amounts of food, several times a day, through a tube shoved down their throat till it reaches the stomach. This process is known as "Gavage" and it is done so humans can take pleasure in the animals' extremely enlarged and diseased liver which they consider a "gourmet" delicacy called Foie Gras - the French term for "fatty liver".

The force-feeding causes the birds’ livers to swell to up to 10 times their normal size. Ducks' livers naturally weigh around 50 grams, however, to qualify as Foie Gras, the industry requires ducks' livers to weigh at least 300 grams.

The Gavage

The workers enter the pen in a factory farm building, where ducks are imprisoned, grab the ducks one at a time, hold them down, forcibly open their bill, shove a long pipe down their throat all the way to their stomach and push about 4 pounds of corn mixture into each duck's digestive system.

Both ducks and geese, endure this painful and stressful procedure at least three times a day for about four weeks. Knowing what is coming, each time they vainly struggle to get as far away from humans as possible.

If the birds struggle hard when the tube is thrust down their throats, or if their oesophagus contracts with the urge to vomit, they might be suffocated and or suffer fatal perforation of the neck.

Insertion of the tube causes lesions which become germ-infested and painfully inflamed. The unbalanced and forced over-feeding frequently causes potentially fatal diseases of the digestive system.

One description of one duck from one of the farms: "…One duck had a maggot-covered neck wound so severe that water spilled out of him when he drank."

The Females Fate

Only male ducks and geese endure the gavage, since it is claimed that they 'produce' larger livers and are considered as more "convenient" to withstand the four weeks of torture.

Therefore female hatchlings are usually ground up alive, are gassed shortly after hatching, or are literally treated as trash - the workers stuff the female duckling into a nylon sack, tie the top and throw it to a trash can. Some of the ducklings manage to get out of the bags and the workers kill them by smashing their heads against the trash can.

Lives in the Sheds

Besides the horrors of the gavage itself, the birds suffer from being confined in crowded, filthy sheds. Throughout the weeks of force-feeding, the birds are kept in either a group pen or an individual cage with only wire or plastic-mesh floors to stand and sleep on. The ducks and geese are denied any access to swimming water even though ducks need to be able to immerse themselves in water to remain healthy. Unable to bathe or groom themselves, they become coated with excrement mixed with the oils that would normally protect their feathers.

In addition, many birds are debeaked, by pliers or scissors without anaesthetic. Their bills become deformed or broken, and they suffer from severe damage to their pharynx and esophagus. One of the consequences of debeaking is that the birds can’t even keep themselves clean without the water they need so much, and so their feathers are soon turned curled and sticky.

Diseases and Health Effects

The gavage corn mixture is deliberately deficient in nutrients. This ensures that the liver does not function normally and accumulates fats instead of breaking them down.

The birds enlarged weight causes blisters as their breasts rub on the cage floor.

It is hard for the birds to walk or even stand, some are propelling themselves by pushing with their wings because their legs cannot support their own weight.

Results of necropsies on dead birds that have been force-fed reveal ruptured livers, throat damage, esophageal trauma, and food spilling from the dead animals' throats and out of their nostrils.

The Murder

After four weeks of force feeding, they are sent to be murdered. Their bodies are so swollen at this point that they can hardly move and have difficulty with breathing.

Between 30% and 70% of the birds suffer from multiple bone fractures by the time they reach the slaughterhouse due to the rough handling.

It is very common among activists to argue that gavage is a practice that deliberately creates a disease since the aimed product is a sick, extremely enlarged, fatty, inflamed and degenerated liver.
But actually all animal exploitation industries deliberately create various diseases to their exploited individuals.
Diseases among animals in factory farms are not side effects, but an inherent part of the industry.
Mastitis among cows in the dairy industry, Chronic back and hip injuries among pigs in the pigs flesh industry, Uterus "Prolapse" among hens in the egg industry, Tibial Dyschondroplasia among chickens in the chicken flesh industry, and Anemia among calves in the veal industry, are all inherent part of the systematical exploitation of animals.
What may distinguish gavage from the others is how visual the violence is. Everyone can immediately observe it.
The hurts of gavage don’t require pre-knowledge or high awareness of the horrors of factory farms. Everyone can understand that shoving a pipe to a bird’s throat is hurtful and violent. And still dozens of millions of people force dozens of millions of ducks and geese to endure this torture.
Almost 50 years after "animal liberation" and after decades of campaigns running against this gruesome industry, it is still here. Part of our horrible world. And another reasons it should end. As soon as possible.