quote:

Top London store stops selling foie gras
Fri Aug 3, 2:43 PM ET




Top London store Harvey Nichols has decided to stop selling foie gras following protests by animal rights groups, a spokesman said Friday.

"Once our stocks are being sold, we'll be no longer be purchasing anymore. It's a commercial decision," a spokeswoman for the store in the capital's posh Knightsbridge district told AFP.

Harvey Nichols was targeted by animal rights' campaigners demonstrating in front of its shops in the Scottish capital Edinburgh as well as the English city of Manchester recently.

British-based animal rights group VIVA! (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals) welcomed the decision.

"Obviously we are very very pleased that Harvey Nichols has stopped selling foie gras. It shows that the British public is actually rejecting foie gras," said spokesman Justin Kerswell.

"There are two reasons for that: the first one is the public pressure. We had peaceful demonstrations outside Harvey Nicols in Edinburgh and Manchester. It's also because they say they're selling less and less foie gras now."
And he said another luxury store in Knightsbridge would follow suit.

"We will be contacting Harrods to say that Harvey Nicols has shown that you can have luxury without cruelty," he added.

Foie gras -- French for fatty liver -- is commonly produced by force-feeding ducks and geese so that their livers become engorged and expand up to 10 times the normal size.