Late Tuesday night (10/30/07), Hudson Valley Foie Gras suffered a terrible tragedy when a fire of unknown origin swept through a structure housing 15,000 breeding ducks, killing the entire flock. The blaze appears to have started in an adjacent building where the mechanical and climate control equipment for the structure was located. Sullivan County fire officials are investigating the blaze and an exact cause has not been determined at this time. Arson has not been ruled out, but HVFG owner Izzy Yanay says he believes the fire was accidental.
Our best to the folks at HVFG as they recover from this event. While they assure FoieBlog their business will survive, the emotional scars inflicted by it will surely take some time to get over. Any responsible farmer will tell you how difficult it is to see the animals they care for injured in any way, and a disaster like this is unimaginable to anyone who hasn't lived through something similar.
The wonderful people at Farm Sanctuary, however, wasted no time in taking advantage of the tragedy to further their goal of putting HVFG out of business. FoieBlog won't give them the benefit of linking to their press release on the fire, but their statement that "as horrible as the suffering of the ducks who burned must have been, the suffering that awaits the survivors is equally horrific," is appalling beyond words. Such rhetoric is devoid of any semblance of accuracy or propriety, and is a further indicator of the lows activists will stoop to in order to influence their audience.
1 comment:
As a representative of Artisan Farmers Alliance, an organization representing foie gras farmers in North America and France, I'd like to offer a few informational comments.
HVFG is thankful none of the farm's employees were injured. But it has been a terrible tragedy to lose the lives of so many important animals.
However, HVFG has always worked toward ensuring a continued supply of eggs, should a problem ever arise with the breeder ducks. The farm has switched to alternative suppliers that are already in place.
Hence, the fire will have no effect on the business or the quality of the foie gras.
And pending the results of the State of New York's current investigation, HVFG has no reason to suspect an unnatural cause of the fire.
Charli Henley
artisanfarmers@gmail.com
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