Harrogate’s Van Zeller is certainly not the place to be seen for anybody concerned with the source of their food.

Owner, Tom Van Zeller, has been made aware of the the suffering birds go through in its production. Unlike many other restaurants across the UK, they continue to serve dishes containing the delicacy of despair, foie gras.

Foie gras is shunned by many and is even illegal to produce in the UK. Ducks and geese have pipes forced down their throats daily and grain pumped in, with ruptured throats being a common occurance. This method of farming creates an artificially diseased and swollen liver, causing birds to become imobile. When slaughtered, the liver is removed and sold as foie gras.

Please boycott Van Zeller whilst they support this trade in animal cruelty and contact them in disgust. Please keep an eye out for details of protests being organised at the restaurant.

Van Zeller,
No.8 Montpellier Street
Harrogate, HG1 2TQ
Tel: 01423 508762
 info@vanzellerrestaurants.co.uk,  tom@vanzellerrestaurants.co.uk
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:: SAMPLE LETTER ::

Dear Tom Van Zeller,

I was recently informed that your business sells foie gras, a delicacy which severely compromises the welfare of birds farmed for its production.

Foie gras is produced by force-feeding confined ducks or geese massive quantities of food, via a mechanized pump, several times a day for up to three weeks. At the end of this fattening period, the birds’ livers are swollen up to ten times their natural size. The birds are then slaughtered, and their livers are sold as “foie gras.” These conditions precipitate considerable casualties, and the mortality rate of animals in foie gras production far exceeds that of other animal industries. Some birds die when the metal feeding tube rips open their throats.

Many birds die of ruptured internal organs or asphyxiation when food becomes impacted in their throats and digestive systems. Many are so physically debilitated and in so much pain by the end of the force-feeding period that they are unable to stand or walk.

I request that you make a reputable decision and remove this delicacy of despair from sale at your establishment, otherwise I will be forced to boycott you and take my custom elsewhere.

Yours Sincerely,
[Name]