Maryland state legislators have stepped away from a bill that could have banned foie gras in the state. Key legislators withdrew support after the bill's hearing March 4th, despite a legion of animal rights activists pushing for the bill. Apparently, the legislators decided that it was not their place to intervene.Maryland isn't the first state to toy with the idea of banning foie gras -- similar battles have been staged in Philadelphia, Chicago (which successfully banned it) and California (where selling or raising it will be illegal by 2012). Anyone care to weigh in -- should governments step in to ban foie gras?
3-12-2008 @11:23PM B said... How foie gras production is any more cruel than egg production, factory-like slaughterhouses, or dairy farms is beyond my puny brain.
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3-13-2008 @11:00AM Marcus said... Foie gras bans have been considered, and rejected, in Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, Oregon, and now Maryland.
The Chicago bill was passed through legislative trickery, inserted into an end of session omnibus bill.
In California, the small producer actually approved of the passage of the bill as it shielded him from lawsuits that would have ended his business long before 2012. Other interested parties did not have the opportunity to make a factual presentation, as in Maryland.
The Chicago bill is being challenged in the courts as unconstitutional regulation of interstate and international commerce. While the legal challenge may not be successful for technical reasons, the Maryland and California bills are clearly in violation of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.
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3-14-2008 @9:27AM Numb said... I'm glad the Maryland officials seem to have more sense than those in Chicago, at least for the time being.
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4-22-2008 @2:30PM bob said... Wuth the hudson valley fois you get these days, you can pretty much count on the fact that the ducks are treated MUCH better than any other ducks in the world... Animal rights activists lie about certain facts so they can push their anti-human agenda. Don't let them do it.
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