Ducks in the Water

by Susie

The Moulard duck (a Muscovy and Pekin hybrid) is the breed of waterfowl typically used in North American foie gras production. Up until a few years ago, I had never actually met a Moulard before, and unfortunately had only heard a lot about the breed in regard to the torment this type of bird faces every day on foie gras farms. That all changed in late Dec. 2006, when three of these battered and abused industry refugees came to our New York Shelter for rehabilitative care.

When Burton, Kohl and Harper arrived at Farm Sanctuary, they were in horrific shape and unable to even eat on their own. All three were diagnosed with hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver syndrome) at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, and because this disease is so serious, we had real concerns about whether or not they’d even be able to survive. So far, however, these boys have beaten the odds and continue to enjoy their lives here with us.

Harper, Kohl and Burton at Farm Sanctuary.
Photo by JoAnne McArthur

Kohl and Harper, the two ducks who were initially in the worst shape, remain inseparable to this day. Because of their disabilities and the fact that they are both male, they wouldn’t have fit into the "pecking order" of our main flock very well, so they continue to live in their own private suite at our duck and goose barn: a pretty posh space complete with a private pool and other amenities specifically designed to keep the boys’ lives comfortable and enriched. They are happy and blissful – a far cry from how they felt after narrowly escaping a cruel and painful death only a few years ago.

Burton’s overall health has improved the most, and you would never know by looking at him now that he ever had any real problems. He lives with a group of Pekin girls who we rescued last year from a terrible cruelty case in Massachusetts. We had originally hoped that welcoming 10 new girls into our main flock would allow all of the males to have a few female companions, but instead the suave and handsome Burton won the hearts of every single one. These girls are completely devoted to Burton and are never far from his side.

 
Burton (tall duck on right) looking out over his pasture,
surrounded by his adoring fans.

In 2007, we welcomed six more Moulard ducks, including Julep and Prince Edward, to our New York Shelter; this time, however, the birds were just ducklings. Rescued during a Farm Sanctuary undercover investigation of a Canadian foie gras production facility, the newly-hatched Moulards were pulled out of the trash. Of the six, most (with the exception of two who were male and likely incorrectly sexed by hurried workers and thrown out by mistake) were female.

The foie gras industry is the only sector of animal agribusiness I know of that kills females at birth, as usually male animals are the ones who are automatically deemed worthless as future industry profit-makers (i.e., male offspring of layer hens who can’t produce eggs and male calves of dairy cows who can’t produce milk). In the case of female Moulards, the birds allegedly have too many veins on their livers to yield the ideal paté preferred by some "foodies," so they are typically discarded after hatching. While these little birds only narrowly escaped death and reveal yet another dark and miserable side to foie gras production, they (unlike Kohl, Harper and Burton) luckily did not endure the immense suffering of force-feeding and thrived once under care.

We at Farm Sanctuary never tire of watching all of these ducks spend their days swimming in the pond (something that industry representatives will try and tell you that Moulard ducks don’t like to do), exploring their pasture, basking in the sun, and stretching their wings. Seeing these ducks live the way they do now makes the callousness and cruelty of the foie gras industry all the more apparent. I urge anyone who claims that foie gras can be humane to visit Farm Sanctuary and see, firsthand, how unnatural it is to confine these beautiful, active and social birds indoors and deny them any semblance of a natural life.

 
Rachael, Julep and Lemonade happily swimming in their pond.

Comments

[Joanne]

This is absolutely amazing! Here in Vancouver, Canada we've been communicating with heartless chefs who will lie to their grave about how the Quebec foie gras they serve is ethically produced. Many of whom straight up call us liars (with no evidence to back themselves up) when we tell them that the females are tossed in the trash. So glad you have the evidence to prove them wrong! Yay, Kohl, Harper and Burton. We are fighting hard for you here in Canada!

[Becci]

A lovely and interesting post.