Foie Gras Protesters Claim Another Scalp

By Alan Lodge

- Last updated on GMT

Foie Gras Protesters Claim Another Scalp

Related tags Foie gras

Yet another restaurant has been forced to axe foie gras from its menu after pressure from animal rights activists. Beaujolais bistro, in Bath, acted quickly to remove the dish to prevent further incidents.

ANOTHER restaurant has been forced to axe foie gras from its menu after pressure from animal rights activists.

Beaujolais bistro, in Bath, was besieged by members of the Bath Activist Network (BAN) at the weekend, and owner Jean Pierre Auge has acted quickly to prevent further incidents.

The controversial French delicacy - which is made by force-feeding geese until their livers swell up to 10 times thenormal size - is illegal to produce in the UK.

Instead, restaurants import foie gras from Europe for as much as £35 per liver lobe.

Jean Pierre Auge has said that although the dish may be off the menu, he will still serve it if a customer asks.

He said: "We are not serving it at the moment because I want to avoid these people standing outside my restaurant and making a fuss. At the moment they have won.

"But if people tell me they want to eat it, I will start serving it again. It should be a question of choice like with veal.

"We are a French restaurant and foie gras is noble produce and part of the main French cuisine.

"People like to have it as a treat and it is not something you can cook at home. People have been eating it since Egyptian times.

"Are they going to tell me I have to stop serving salmon next? Why don`t they target the bigger places? Harrods is selling foie gras but they aren`t standing outside there."

Currently the restaurant is serving faux foie gras - a goose liver pate for which the birds are not force-fed.

Other restaurants in Bath can expect further trouble from BAN, who claim they want to convince Bath and North Somerset Council to declare the city a foie gras-free zone.

Protester Megan Lebasci told the Bath Chronicle: "We are collecting as many signatures as possible which will then be sent to the council at a later date.

"A lot of other places in the country have already gone cruelty-free."

The group has had success in the past, having already successfully campaigned to have the dish removed from the menus of three city centre outlets.

The Epicerie Gourmande stall in the Guildhall Market stopped selling tinned foie gras earlier this year, while Le Petit Cochon, in Margarets Buildings, was forced to alter its menu in order to prevent further protests.

The Hole in The Wall restaurant in George Street has also taken off the list.

 

  • What`s your opinion in the foie gras debate? Are restaurants right to bow to pressure from protesters? Or should they stand their ground? Let us know below.

 

 

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