A French restaurant in Wellington is being hounded by activists protesting against its popular foie gras starter.

Placard-wielding animal-rights protesters have taunted Le Canard restaurant in Thorndon every weekend for more than six months, its owners say.

Foie gras is a traditional French delicacy made from duck or goose livers that have been engorged by overfeeding them with fat-covered grains.

It is illegal to farm the birds using the force-feeding method in New Zealand, and fresh foie gras cannot be imported. However, a handful of Wellington restaurants use legal tinned imports.
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Hans Kriek, executive director of animal-rights group Safe, called foie gras a "barbaric" product, and said he knew about regular protests at a Wellington restaurant.

"It's appalling that people even think that they can continue selling the product that is well recognised within the animal-welfare world."

The force-feeding was "one of the cruelest procedures around", and citing "tradition" was no excuse for preserving it, he said.

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full story:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6884091/Activists-cry-foul-over-French-delicacy/