Foie gras producers in France pledge to rear birds in a more humane way
French farmers to use bigger cages, rethink force-feeding and be more open about it
Long accused of torture by animal-rights activists, French foie gras producers are admitting they may have gone too far.
They have vowed changes to how ducks and geese are reared, and their livers fattened.
They are also promising a new spirit of openness about gavage - the force-feeding of animals by passing plastic tubes through their throats directly into their stomachs.
"Maybe we did go a little too far," said Marie Pierre Pe of CIFOG, an industry group representing French foie gras producers. "In the Eighties, 30 to 35 per cent of foie gras came from Eastern European countries. We had to improve production to be more competitive and maybe went too far," she said.
Animal-rights activists have carried out a sustained campaign against foie gras - literally "fatty liver" in French. Its sale has been banned in California, Britain's House of Lords has taken it off its menu and internet retailer Amazon has banned it.
The delicacy is fiercely defended by fans who argue that birds stuff themselves with food in the wild while undertaking long migrations. But critics insist the practice is cruel, and a 1998 EU report showed that death rates among force-fed birds could be up to 20 times higher than in those reared normally.