RESTAURANT owners across Dorset are being urged to remove a delicacy from their menus for the sake of animal welfare.

Campaigners are desperate to see foie gras outlawed due to the "brutal and barbaric" way it is obtained from ducks and geese.

Adam Murry, the Bournemouth-based founder of the Murry Foundation, said he is determined to stop the practice, which involves violent force-feeding and the premature deaths of thousands of birds every year.

The foundation is known the world over for its involvement in animal protection and building and maintaining schools for orphans.

Mr Murry plans to write to the owners of all restaurants in Dorset and claims some have already agreed to remove foie gras, which is French for "fatty liver".

"In an age of enlightenment and tolerance it seems unimaginable that such torturous and barbaric activities are allowed to continue," he told the Daily Echo.

"These poor animals suffer terribly all for the sake of putting luxury on our plates.

"We should not be allowed to do this sort of thing and I am appealing to all restaurant owners to take it off the menu."

Mr Murry said geese and ducks suffer injury and pain during the process, which swells their livers to around 10 times their normal size.

Foie gras is already banned in California and Chicago and the force-feeding of geese and ducks is outlawed in many countries including Germany, Norway, Denmark and Israel.

  • Anyone who wants more details can contact the Murry Foundation on 01202 768950 or go online to themurryfoundation.com.