With extensive catering contracts that span top hotels, government departments and premier British sporting events, Compass Group UK & Ireland has confirmed that it has removed foie gras from all company menus. The compassionate move follows talks with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) UK and an online campaign in which PETA supporters appealed to the catering group to drop the vile food product. Compass Group follows in the footsteps of Ocado and international catering giant Aramark, which have both implemented policies against selling foie gras in recent months.

In an e-mail sent to PETA UK, Executive Chef Nick Vadis states, “[W]e removed foie gras from Compass Group UK & Ireland’s approved product list (APL). … I can now confirm that it is no longer available for our chefs to purchase through our approved supply chain”.

“We’re delighted that Compass Group has found its ‘moral compass’ and agrees that serving up the grotesquely enlarged livers of force-fed ducks and geese is indefensible”, says PETA UK Associate Director Mimi Bekhechi.

In order to produce foie gras, ducks and geese are force-fed several times a day - via a pipe that is rammed down their throats – until their livers expand up to 10 times their normal size. The pipes sometimes puncture the birds’ throats, and many animals suffer from ruptured internal organs and liver failure. Heartbreaking undercover video footage documented that birds tremble in fear as they await the next assault.

Foie gras production is banned in more than 15 countries, including the UK, and the state of California last month introduced a ban on its sale. Compass Group now joins every major supermarket in the UK as well as the Brit Awards, the BAFTAs, Lord’s Cricket Ground, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, which have all pledged never to serve or sell foie gras after learning about its cruel production from PETA. A long list of prominent figures – including Prince Charles, Sir Roger Moore, Ricky Gervais, Joanna Lumley, the Duchess of Hamilton, Kate Winslet, Twiggy and Bill Oddie – have also spoken out against foie gras.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk