A federal court in Manhattan has cleared the way for a lawsuit filed by The Humane Society of the United States charging the nation's largest foie gras factory farm with over 1,100 violations of the federal Clean Water Act. Ruling from the bench, Judge Harold Baer rejected Hudson Valley Foie Gras' motion for summary judgment, and ordered the case, which The HSUS filed in 2006, to proceed to discovery immediately.
"This facility has flouted federal pollution laws for years, and The Humane Society of the United States intends to see justice done for the environment, animals and local residents who have all suffered at the hands of this factory farm," said Jonathan R. Lovvorn, vice president and chief counsel for animal protection litigation at The HSUS.
Hudson Valley Foie Gras raises and slaughters ducks to produce the controversial French "delicacy" foie gras. Birds are force-fed an unnatural amount of food through a pipe thrust down their throats until their livers expand to ten or more times their natural size. This process not only results in extreme suffering for the birds, it also produces a significant amount of waste, including manure and slaughter waste. The case alleges that some of this waste has been discharged into the Middle Mongaup River.
The case against Hudson Valley Foie Gras will now proceed with discovery, and perhaps trial.
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