Animal rights group targets DC restaurant over 'humane' foie gras claim as ban looms

This week, voters overwhelmingly passed D.C.'s ban on foie gras. It's not set to take effect until next year, but it's not stopping some restaurants from dishing up the delicacy. Fox 5's Emma Bash live in Northwest tonight with the fight brewing between the animal rights group and that restaurant. Marina, Sydney, good evening. Yeah, as you mentioned, the ban isn't set to go into effect until next year, so some restaurants are taking advantage. They're dishing it up as much as they can between now and then, but the way they're advertising it is what caught the attention of an animal rights group that sent a cease and desist letter to a D.C. restaurant here in Logan Circle that we just learned apparently made an impact. It's absolutely worth the legal fight. Ducks are being confined and force-fed multiple times a day. You know, foie gras is a bit of a niche issue, but it's a much better, it's a big spotlight on how animals are treated in our farming system altogether. So this is absolutely a fight worth having. Now, here's the claim at the center of the controversy made by the restaurant Mallard on 14th Street in Logan Circle. They were advertising a foie gras supper series next week, saying it is from, quote, humanely raised ducks only. But removed that post in the last hour or so and replaced it with one that does not make that claim. Because as you heard from the group Animal Outlook, they do not believe humane and foie gras can go in the same sentence. The ballot question drawing controversy from critics and supporters, even celebrity chef Jose Andres warning that the ban adds another burden for restaurants, other chefs saying it stifles their creativity, while those for the ban say it is about animal welfare. We asked people today what they thought both about the legal drama and the ban itself. It's just a stupid ban, period. And for them to hide the fact the way they're raising it is wrong. We have the right to know how you're raising it. Just like you put it on the label, they need to let us know how it's raised. People out there I know love it, but I've tried it. I'm not a fan. I think it was kind of cruel, like the way that the animals were being treated. So I think it's a good thing. Now, a representative from Mallard told me that they weren't interested in doing an interview either about the cease and desist or the foie gras ban altogether. The group Animal Outlook telling us that they're pleased they took down the post with that misleading language, but now they're hoping they just cancel the dinner altogether. This ban goes into effect. On July 1, D.C. still has to figure out how to fund the enforcement of it. By the way, New York City, California, they already have similar bans in place. So the district, not the first, not the only, but we'll see what is to come. And some foie gras producers, they're also considering legislation, so the fight is far from over. Sydney Marina.