Californians are demanding the stay of foie gras even as Kamala Harris, the State Attorney General, filed an appeal to the federal judge's ruling.
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, Harris filed an appeal to overturn a federal judge's decision which removed California's two-and-a-half-year ban on foie gras, making the delicacy which is made from geese or duck liver legal in the state.
In 2012, California prohibited the force-feeding of geese in a bid to fatten their livers so that they could be used to make foie gras. Restaurants in California that were found serving the gourmet dish stood to face up to $1000 in fines.
However, restaurants in south L.A. and foie gras producers from Canada sued a federal court. On Jan. 7, 2015, Stephen Wilson - a district judge - removed the ban on the grounds that the law was in conflict with the U.S. Poultry Products Inspections Act, which regulates the production of poultry.
However, Harris' single-page filing to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, says that state lawyers will debate the January ruling, which has seen the return of foie gras on Californian restaurant menus. The State Attorney General seeks to reinstate the ban.
The move to reinstate the ban on foie gras in California is being welcomed by Animal welfare groups.
"We are confident that the Ninth Circuit will correct the district court's mistake, and hope that the attorney general will hasten this result by expediting the appeal," revealed Stephen Wells, executive director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
Restaurant owners fighting the ban, on the other hand, are confident that the judge Wilson's judgment will not be overturned post the appeal.
"We're very confident that the district court's judgment will be upheld on appeal," opined Sean Chaney, chef-owner of Hot's Kitchen in Hermosa Beach.
Foie gras producers too believe that they will emerge victorious. The side which loses the case in the appeals court will likely move the case to the Supreme Court.
Till the time the case is under consideration by the Ninth Circuit, foie gras will stay legal in California.
