Undercover investigations at America's two leading foie gras producers, Hudson Valley Foie Gras in New York and Sonoma Foie Gras in California, revealed horrific cruelty. Investigators from GourmetCruelty.com and the Animal Protection and Rescue League found that ducks were crammed into filthy, feces-ridden sheds and that others were isolated in wire cages that were so small that they could barely move. They also observed barrels full of dead ducks who had choked to death or whose organs had ruptured during the traumatic force-feeding process. The investigators rescued 15 ducks, including two who were being eaten alive by rats because they could not move. View video and photographic evidence of this cruelty.

A PETA investigation at Hudson Valley Foie Gras (then called "Commonwealth Enterprises") revealed extremely high death rates. So many ducks died when their stomachs burst from overfeeding that workers who killed fewer than 50 birds per month were given a bonus. In addition to ruptured stomachs and liver disease, many ducks develop foot infections, kidney necrosis, spleen damage, bruised and broken bills, and tumor-like lumps in their throats. One duck had a maggot-infested neck wound that was so severe that water spilled out of it when he drank.

Cruelty in foie gras factory farms in other countries is similarly hideous. Watch a documentary about the foie gras industry in France.