Ducks and geese are one of the best known and beloved animals because they admired by park-goers everywhere. Before we learn the cruel practices of them, let's learn about each of these animals.
Geese are very loyal and mate for life and are very protective of their partners and offspring. If their offspring becomes sick or injured, they will refuse to leave their side even if winter is approaching and the others fly for the south. When a partner dies, the mate mourns in seclusion and many spend their lives as widows or widowers, refusing to mate again. They enjoy preening their feathers, collecting leaves and other pieces to improve their nests, and look for food throughout grass. Multiple families of geese form large groups, called gaggles in which they look out for each other - if one if shot or injured, some geese will lag behind to look after the injured friend. They are great fliers who may travel thousand of miles during their migrations. They travel in V shapes so the ones in front reduce air resistance which helps them fly about 70 percent farther than they could do on their own. They honk to encourage each other and rotate when they get tired. They have wonderful memories and use familiar landmarks and the stars to navigate.
Ducks are social and outgoing and feel at ease when they are in large groups, called paddlings. During the day they look for food in the grass or in shallow water and sleep together with their paddlings at night. They are meticulously clean and keep their nests clear of waste and debris. They also enjoy preening and flaunting for potential mates.. in nature they can live for up to 10 years. They are adept fliers and swimmer and can travel hundreds of miles each year and also form into formation to protect and reduce air resistance. They can fly up to 60 miles per hour - wow! They use vocalizations and body language to communicate.. they actually have regional accents, just like us! City dicks have more of a shouting quack and other ducks above them hustle, while country ducks have softer, smoother voices.
Now that we've learned how smart and passionate these creatures are, lets talk about foie gras, which literally means fatty liver, where workers ram pipes down males ducks' or geese's throats two to three times a day and pump as much as four pounds of grain and fat into the animals stomachs, causing their lives to bloat up to 10 times their normal size. Many birds have difficulty standing because of their engorged lives and may tear out their own feathers and cannibalize each other out of stress.
They are kept in wire cages or packed into sheds. Because of the rush of sometimes expecting a worker to force-feed 500 birds three times a day, animals are often treated roughly and left injured and suffering. An investigation at Hudson Valley Foie Gras in New York (then called Commonwealth Enterprises) found that so many ducks died when their organs ruptured from overfeeding that workers who killed fewer than 50 ducks per month were given a bonus! Many develop spleen damage, tumor-like lumps in their throats, foot infections, bruised and broken bills, and kidney necrosis. One duck had a maggot-infested neck wound so severe that water spilled out of it when he drank! Other investigations from America's other leading foie gras producers, revealed the ducks were crammed into filthy, feces-ridden sheds and that others were isolated in wire cages that were so small that they could barely move. Barrels full of dead ducks who had choked to death or whose organs ruptured during the traumatic force-feeding process. Rats sometimes eat the birds alive because they cannot move.
Foie Gras is so inhumane that in 2004 California passed a law banning the sale and production of foie gras effective in 2005. Force-feeding has also been outlawed in the U.K., Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, and Israel.
Lastly, if it isn't foie gras, then ducks and geese are raised and killed by the millions on well-hidden factory farms in order to make expensive "delicacies" for wealthy diners - foie gras, duck meat, and goose meat bring maximum profits to the industry and maximum suffering to the tortured birds. More than 31 million are killed each years.. 31 million who are meant to play, swim, and forage are deprived of all these natural behaviors when they are crammed by the thousands into dark sheds with only wire, feces, and dirt is available to stand on. They have only a trickle of water for drinking, so the ducks cannot clean themselves and filth and disease spread quickly.
Many ducks and geese neurotically pull out their feather and peck at one another because of stressful, unbearable conditions. To prevent this, factory farmers cut off the birds' sensitive upper beaks - without any painkillers. Many die from infection or starvation after this mutilation. They are bred so heavy that their legs often become deformed and crippled. They never migrate, mate NATURALLY, build nests, or raise their young. Many won't see the dun of breathe fresh air until they are sent to slaughter. When they have grown large enough, they are thrown into crates and transported on trucks for many miles through all weather extremes to slaughterhouses. Those who survive the journey struggle and cry out as they are hung upside-down and as their throats are cut. Some birds are fully conscious when they are dunked into the scalding-hot water of defeathering tanks.
Geese are very loyal and mate for life and are very protective of their partners and offspring. If their offspring becomes sick or injured, they will refuse to leave their side even if winter is approaching and the others fly for the south. When a partner dies, the mate mourns in seclusion and many spend their lives as widows or widowers, refusing to mate again. They enjoy preening their feathers, collecting leaves and other pieces to improve their nests, and look for food throughout grass. Multiple families of geese form large groups, called gaggles in which they look out for each other - if one if shot or injured, some geese will lag behind to look after the injured friend. They are great fliers who may travel thousand of miles during their migrations. They travel in V shapes so the ones in front reduce air resistance which helps them fly about 70 percent farther than they could do on their own. They honk to encourage each other and rotate when they get tired. They have wonderful memories and use familiar landmarks and the stars to navigate.
Ducks are social and outgoing and feel at ease when they are in large groups, called paddlings. During the day they look for food in the grass or in shallow water and sleep together with their paddlings at night. They are meticulously clean and keep their nests clear of waste and debris. They also enjoy preening and flaunting for potential mates.. in nature they can live for up to 10 years. They are adept fliers and swimmer and can travel hundreds of miles each year and also form into formation to protect and reduce air resistance. They can fly up to 60 miles per hour - wow! They use vocalizations and body language to communicate.. they actually have regional accents, just like us! City dicks have more of a shouting quack and other ducks above them hustle, while country ducks have softer, smoother voices.
Now that we've learned how smart and passionate these creatures are, lets talk about foie gras, which literally means fatty liver, where workers ram pipes down males ducks' or geese's throats two to three times a day and pump as much as four pounds of grain and fat into the animals stomachs, causing their lives to bloat up to 10 times their normal size. Many birds have difficulty standing because of their engorged lives and may tear out their own feathers and cannibalize each other out of stress.
They are kept in wire cages or packed into sheds. Because of the rush of sometimes expecting a worker to force-feed 500 birds three times a day, animals are often treated roughly and left injured and suffering. An investigation at Hudson Valley Foie Gras in New York (then called Commonwealth Enterprises) found that so many ducks died when their organs ruptured from overfeeding that workers who killed fewer than 50 ducks per month were given a bonus! Many develop spleen damage, tumor-like lumps in their throats, foot infections, bruised and broken bills, and kidney necrosis. One duck had a maggot-infested neck wound so severe that water spilled out of it when he drank! Other investigations from America's other leading foie gras producers, revealed the ducks were crammed into filthy, feces-ridden sheds and that others were isolated in wire cages that were so small that they could barely move. Barrels full of dead ducks who had choked to death or whose organs ruptured during the traumatic force-feeding process. Rats sometimes eat the birds alive because they cannot move.
Foie Gras is so inhumane that in 2004 California passed a law banning the sale and production of foie gras effective in 2005. Force-feeding has also been outlawed in the U.K., Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, and Israel.
Lastly, if it isn't foie gras, then ducks and geese are raised and killed by the millions on well-hidden factory farms in order to make expensive "delicacies" for wealthy diners - foie gras, duck meat, and goose meat bring maximum profits to the industry and maximum suffering to the tortured birds. More than 31 million are killed each years.. 31 million who are meant to play, swim, and forage are deprived of all these natural behaviors when they are crammed by the thousands into dark sheds with only wire, feces, and dirt is available to stand on. They have only a trickle of water for drinking, so the ducks cannot clean themselves and filth and disease spread quickly.
Many ducks and geese neurotically pull out their feather and peck at one another because of stressful, unbearable conditions. To prevent this, factory farmers cut off the birds' sensitive upper beaks - without any painkillers. Many die from infection or starvation after this mutilation. They are bred so heavy that their legs often become deformed and crippled. They never migrate, mate NATURALLY, build nests, or raise their young. Many won't see the dun of breathe fresh air until they are sent to slaughter. When they have grown large enough, they are thrown into crates and transported on trucks for many miles through all weather extremes to slaughterhouses. Those who survive the journey struggle and cry out as they are hung upside-down and as their throats are cut. Some birds are fully conscious when they are dunked into the scalding-hot water of defeathering tanks.
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