Ban On Force-Feeding Of Animals

Foie gras production methods, and force-feeding in particular, really do constitute an awful mistreatment of animals. Animal rights groups have been fighting to ban the practice of force-feeding for years, and I wouldn’t call the current results a great success. Here is what we have so far:

Europe
The force feeding of animals for non-medical purposes, essential to current foie gras production practices, is explicitly prohibited by specific laws in 6 of 9 Austrian provinces, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, or following interpretation of general animal protection laws in Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. However, foie gras can still be imported into and purchased in these countries. Most of these countries aren't currently producing foie gras, nor have they been in the past.

Turkey has also banned the force-feeding of animals on June 24, 2004 by the enactment of the animal protection law.

Since 1997, the number of European countries producing foie gras has been cut in half. Five countries still produce foie gras: Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, France and Hungary.

United States
State of California: The California Health and Safety Code, enacted in 2004 and to become effective July 2012, prohibits force-feeding as well as the sale of foie gras.
City of Chicago: The Chicago City Council voted to ban the sale of foie gras, effective 22 August 2006. Following Mayor Richard Daley’s objections the City Council overwhelmingly repealed Chicago's ban on May 14, 2008.

Elsewhere in the world
Argentina: Foie gras production is illegal as a mistreatment or act of cruelty to animals.

Israel: In August 2003, the Supreme Court of Israel ordered the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture to ban the force-feeding, effective March 31, 2005.