Foie Gras has been banned once again in California. Judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled on Friday that the 2004 California law banning the sale of fatty duck and geese livers can be enforced. Exactly how enforcement would be carried out is unclear as the appeals court is working on the final approval. Bay Area restaurateurs say they have no immediate plans to change their menu offerings of foie gras.
The original foie gras ban stemmed from animal activists who claimed the force-feeding of poultry to produce fatty livers was inhumane. However, in 2015, a district judge overturned the ruling as unconstitutional. But now, federal judges say that decision was incorrect and the state ban poses no conflict with federal law.