More than a dozen people have been arrested for protesting the production of foie gras by attempting to put a supermarket in Antwerp on lockdown as part of a series of protest actions at the weekend.
Activists with the Animal Resistance group live-streamed a protest on Facebook in which one among a group of protesters, attached together with a chain inside the Cru supermarket, is force-fed with a tube as part of a staged protest calling on a ban on foie gras.
A total of 14 people were arrested as a result of the demonstration with police calling buses from transport company De Lijn to remove the activists from the supermarket, De Standaard reports.
https://www.facebook.com/AnimalResistanceOfficial/videos/1329205570575697/?__xts__[0]=68.ARB8Zwpy9abmWrjk7Slfro3PV6lZKlh_Ad-HuAviRK8I67EPs6L0_9bHfX3L3P4rAcWXbSUgpf1mc4m7womj2nnFE9tLwA9rp9DDqqQWancSbt4Ty-GKLANaedJlNsEclI8zf5bx6ED1NIVHKqrvveV3bKj0nC8TIglQkV6SQxNYP6zLNEg_xU_SNx752tmz9jny_T98E0tX9baHrff65OIUEUfk11crXd7YHGXfTwa2qrctLObiEbJLEsEAg_a-GfM-1bkvG9vBHFSgyuk8VCJZ8kJbTGeR7mH4DgT_VRzXMBu7tPz5DI21woQjAnUA-DErvtNSigivcYfRSzVtvuv6SX2RQ7y2RZXBGQ&__tn__=-R
In another video of the same day, dozens of people standing around a supermarket, singing "Courage My Friend" as they held pictures of geese inside cages, in an effort to raise awareness and collect signatures for a petition to ban foie gras.
The activists' action on Sunday came as part as a coordinated process targetting a farm-to-store production chain of foie gras, the fattened liver of ducks and geese which is produced by force-feeding the animals with a feeding tube.
On Saturday, the group staged a similar protest in a farm in which foie gras is produced, entering the enclosure where geese are locked inside cages, with some members locking themselves to the cages and others gathering around the farm singing and holding up signs.
Both actions were streamed through several videos posted on Facebook, with the supermarket targetted on Sunday in an effort to push consumers to be more aware of their purchases.
https://www.facebook.com/AnimalResistanceOfficial/videos/2149933281968100/?__xts__[0]=68.ARCgqtUH7j9hVfxZhLZXhKQ11jdj2cHsFcnpD_Hwnb015I6zYLf4_JPOFVmhx8NNtqxCLfm8Ai6jFb2RO9TfXKw2DDiJ9dtGQwsx8TLP2SgcmqQcG-f6-y8fbYkt49BiBwFNkDz446usIh_HsXC3d7ZS7LyF63PbHC9Ff4B-VjlWWGnpgesmMBSgmqY_6pizqscnx6GYCQepfuhLaNuKDKSPHU9IVgOMbw-DMLpNC0SgX1Fr-x1aakDeKAWZPrwidLCJQEfV3eo26AWEOlbw-3QId8I7o0kB78zFFVkOAUwizwh9kIYkw64AoMPjcQXDwPSFp-3Ao6vt_sTUfltO5Hja6avSHw92FF8xvQ&__tn__=-R
"With our campaign in Cru, we want to show that the problem is not only at the farm," Glenn Lemmens, spokesperson for Animal Resistance told De Standaard. "But that the suffering of the ducks is actually created by the purchase of foie gras by the consumer."
According to the outlet, the animal rights group's objective is that the supermarket breaks its contract with the producer and that they invest in findig cruelty-free alternatives for customers.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
