Beloved British wildlife expert Bill Oddie made an unexpected appearance at the unveiling of Fortnum & Mason’s Christmas window dressed as Santa Claus to call on Fortnum & Mason to be good, for goodness’ sake, and stop selling foie gras.

Bill Oddie Delivers Bag of Coal to Naughty Fortnum and Mason
Bill Oddie Delivers Bag of Coal to Naughty Fortnum and Mason
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Photo via PETA UK

Oddie stunned shoppers and guests as he loudly explained that Fortnum & Mason pays producers in France to force-feed geese until their livers become grossly enlarged so that Fortnum & Mason can sell the “torture in a tin”. Oddie also delivered a bag of coal for Fortnum’s managing director, Beverley Aspinall, to whom he wrote in September after she ignorantly claimed that force-feeding geese was comparable to large birds’ swallowing fish in the wild.

“It’s not just ‘naughty’ for Fortnum & Mason to keep selling a product so cruel that it’s illegal to produce in the UK – it’s shameful”, says Oddie. “All I want for Christmas is for Fortnum & Mason to pull foie gras from its shelves, once and for all.”

To produce foie gras, pipes are shoved down the throats of geese and ducks several times a day. Grain and fat is pumped into the birds’ stomachs until their livers become diseased and swollen. Fortnum & Mason’s main competitors – Selfridges and Harvey Nichols – have stopped selling foie gras.

Oddie is one of a long list of prominent figures – including Sir Roger Moore, Ricky Gervais, the Duchess of Hamilton, Twiggy, Jenny Seagrove, Carley Stenson, Peter Egan and Owain Yeoman – who have appealed to Fortnum & Mason to pull foie gras from its shelves.

Source: PETA UK

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