Gigi's In Hollywood Ducks Foie Gras Animal Protection Lawsuit

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Less than a week after their grand opening, Gigi's in Hollywood is modifying their menu due to a lawsuit from Animal Protection and Rescue League. Gigi's agreed to stop selling foie gras, a delicacy made by force-feeding ducks until they're "on the verge of death" according to the League.

The San Diego-based Animal Protection and Rescue League claims they've compelled five California restaurants this year to stop selling foie gras. The dish translates to "fat liver" in French.

"There is nothing natural about inserting a half-inch diameter, one-foot long metal pipe down a duck's esophagus and pumping up to a pound of corn mash in, two to three times per day, for up to 30 days, until the ducks are on the verge of death from organ rupture and have a distended liver that is over 12 times normal size," the lawsuit stated. "APRL has repeatedly documented and exposed exactly this horror."

The dish was actually banned in the state of California in 2004, following a strong push from animal rights activists. However, a federal judge ruled in July that the expensive dish was legal, so long as the seller was outside of California and a third-party brought the food into the state.

Hudson Valley Foie Gras in upstate New York is the only producer of the dish in the country. The Animal Protection and Rescue League filed a separate lawsuit against Hudson Valley in September 2020.

Patch has reached out to Gigi's for comment.

City News Service and Kenan Draughorne contributed to this report.