A SUNY-ESF undergrad is currently facing charges for entering a foie gras production facility, filming the inhumane treatment of the ducks and, allegedly, taking two of them. Amber Canavan, if convicted, could be sentenced up to seven years in prison.

Canavan’s situation is a reflection of multiple injustices present in our legislative system. Not only should foie gras, a delicacy made from the liver of a duck or goose after being artificially fattened through force feeding, be banned, Canavan should be thanked, not indicted by Sullivan County District Attorney James Farrell for exposing the real injustices present.

Foie gras is already banned in a number of countries including Germany, Italy, Denmark, Norway and the Czech Republic. In an interview with The Daily Orange, Canavan said, “The U.S. should follow the lead by enacting meaningful animal cruelty legislation for all animals, including ducks, at the federal level.”

The state of California is currently trying to ban foie gras production, again. Foie gras production was banned statewide in July of 2012. This ban was repealed this January, on the grounds of overstepping the regulatory domain of the federal government. Current California Attorney General Kamala Harris wants this original ban reinstated. States must prioritize the cessation of animal suffering over the continued profits for businesses, which commodify sentient beings.

In a Feb. 22 article from The New York Times covering Canavan’s case, Marcus Henley, the operations manager of Hudson Valley, the company whose facility Canavan took footage of, said, “We give tours … You don’t need an exposé.”

Inside the factory, Canavan was able to observe the ducks being raised for herself. She recalled, “It was hard to find one that was not suffering common maladies from these living conditions, such as scabs and sores, skin infections and feather loss, not to mention upper respiratory disease from the filthy, dander filled air.” Canavan continued, “Some had died right in their pens, likely from heart attacks, their corpses sitting there for hours until the workers came back to the next force-feeding session.”

It seems unlikely that the tours showed the same things Canavan experienced during her own exploration of the facility.

Those responsible for the continued exploitation of animals in agricultural settings know what they are doing is inhumane, and have gone to great lengths to keep their tactics hidden from the public eye.

Since the 1990s, states have been wrongfully protecting livestock farmers. “Ag gag” is a term encompassing a number of laws passed meant to prohibit illegal whistle-blowing regarding the abhorrent treatment of animals in the United States. Even in a state where harmful ag gag laws are not in place, the judicial system is still protecting the ones responsible for mass suffering instead of the ones attempting to expose them for the world to see.

In the same interview, Canavan explained, “So-called ag gag laws have been passed in seven states so far. New York state and almost a dozen others rejected these draconian laws. That didn’t stop Sullivan County District Attorney James Farrell from bringing these ridiculous charges against me.”

Canavan’s situation is the latest example of an immoral system. Not only should she be absolved from any legal ramifications, her actions should send a message to the New York state government that foie gras is a cruel and unnecessary business which should be banned immediately.

Azor Cole is a junior public relations major and geography minor. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at azcole@syr.edu and followed on Twitter at @azor_cole.

Published on March 5, 2015 at 12:15 am