FERNDALE — The Catskill Foie Gras Collective—made up of Hudson Valley Foie Gras and La Belle Farms in Sullivan County—has won another battle to keep the sale of foie gras legal in New York City by a determination made by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Marcus Henley, Vice President of Hudson Valley Foie Gras, told the Democrat, “We’ve waited a long time for this, and it is just fabulous.”

In 2019, NYC Local Law 202 looked to end the sale of Foie Gras, which the majority of the NYC City Council said was inhumane.

After an injunction from the Supreme Court of the State of New York brought on by a lawsuit by the Collective stating the local law violated  Section 305-a of N.Y Agriculture and Markets Law—which states its protection for farmers “against local laws which unreasonably restrict farm operations located within an agricultural district.”

After reviewing the local law, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Market said the local law “violated Section 305-a of N.Y. Agriculture and Markets Law… unreasonably restricts Hudson Valley Foie Gras and La Belle Farms farm operations.”

According to the determination, New York City has not demonstrated that selling livestock products like foie gras threatens public health or safety.

If the local law went into effect, Henley said it would have caused both farms to lay off hundreds of workers, and they would have been in danger of shutting their doors.

According to Henley, the ban would have a ripple effect within the industry and caused, “Millions of dollars in revenue loss to the State, New York City, restaurants, wholesale distributors, retail store owners, and related transportation companies.” 

Hudson Valley Foie Gras and La Belle Farms are the two largest producers of Foie Gras in America, and a large portion of their sales comes from restaurants like in New York City.

“We are extremely grateful that the Department has taken this action, as hundreds of Sullivan County farm worker jobs were hanging in the balance,” said Henley.

New York City has thirty days to challenge the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets’ determination.

The NYC Law Department spokesman Nicholas Paolucci told the Democrat, “The city is reviewing the State’s letter and determining next steps.”

Animal rights activists have called the process of creating foie gras—which is done by feeding a Mulard Duck multiple times a day with a plastic tube—inhumane and cruel, and called on New York City Council to vote for the ban on the sale of foie gras.

After the determination, Voters For Animal Rights told the Democrat, “New York City has the right to ban the sale of a cruel product that comes from tortured animals. The foie gras industry’s attempt to overturn the will of the democratically elected New York City Council by calling on their friends in the Department of Agriculture and Markets to help is a last-ditch effort. Foie gras is a product of cruelty and has no place in our city. We are confident the ban will go into effect.”

Henley said the fight is not over, as they will continue to fight for their farms.

He added, “We hope the [New York] City will accept the order given the [New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets] Department’s authority and expertise enforcing the Agriculture and Markets Law, but we will continue to fight to protect our farms.”