Foie gras imports could face post-Brexit ban

Foie gras imports are at risk of a ban following Brexit after Conservative MP Henry Smith said the time had come to ban “this outdated practice”.

Smith said foie gras was “cruel to produce, unhealthy to eat” and “expensive to purchase”. He added that “the fact that imports of it to the UK are allowed means that the suffering and mistreatment of animals continues”.

Labour MP Kerry McCarthy supported Smith’s ban proposal saying the substance was “a product of making the animal diseased”.

British farmers are currently banned from producing foie gras however British restaurants and shops are allowed to import it.

Environment minister George Eustice said that while the UK remained a member of the EU it must “observe law which places restrictions” on introducing measures that “impair the movement of goods”. He said: “When we leave the European Union, we do indeed have an opportunity to look at restrictions on sales.”

India became the first country to ban foie gras in 2014 and its production is banned in the majority of EU member states.