GB No. 1, autumn 1989
Mirosław Pukacz from the Kalisian group of The Green's Federation (Federacja Zielonych), writes to us: "We undertake activities to stop fattening geese and ducks with use of automatic machine i.e. a pipe delivering directly to the stomack 2 kg of corn per day. The birds are killed just before they die of superfatting. This terror takes place in Ostrovian Poultry-Farm (Ostrowskie Zakłady Drobiarskie), Dembińskiego Street 13, Ostrów Wielkopolski.
For the time being I ask you to publish our letter to the ambassador of France in Warsaw."
To Mr Ambassador
of Republic of France
in Warsaw
Kalisz, June 18, 1989
Dear Mr Ambassador,
People, getting old, lose their ideals. They get rid of them in the situations when they have to decide whether to choose an easy road of compromise or a difficult one. They usually choose the easy one and throw off their belief in love, justice and fraternity among the creatures living on the earth. Many of them, feeling that they betray their ideals look for and find the justification for their acts. This way a brave young man change to a man in the street not able to say "no".
When the deep crises came many Poles started saving their budget doing jobs which are incompatible with the dignity of a human being. How to earn the money for living and educating children they ask. And how should they do it if they have only a couple of sandy ground? So they sooth their guilty conscious and decide to earn money which they need.
We associate a German with an order, an Englishman with a coolness and self-controll and a Frenchman with a refined fare. The Strasbourg Pie is one of the most favourite dishes among this fare. Unfortunatelly the production of the pie has sunk lately in the connection with the way the main product to prepeare it the liver of geese or ducks is received. The French defenders of animals' laws are guilty of that. They protested untill the tortures of animals have been forbidden.
And here a tough Polish farmer who needs money and a French firm offering money and wanting these superfatted livers have met.
We do not want to describe the way of fattening these poor birds in this place. It is enough to say that the livers which are delivered to you are sick and they are received from the birds dying of the liver cirrhosis. We thing, just as you probably do, that people have no right to ill-treat animals only because they want to eat something tasteful. But we think also- and here we disagree that one should not eat animals raised with methods giving them unbearable pain. If you use something, you automatically sanction its existance. You exported to Poland the suffering and misery of thousands of animals and you left for yourself the legally guaranted love for animals and Strasburg Pie.
We know who feeds and fattens geese this way in Poland. We shall do everything to discourage the farmers to their present activity. Nevertheless we realize that our arguments shall be a poor shield in comparision with strenght of money.
Mr Ambassador, we ask you to check whether this trade killing the animals with somebody else's hands is legal and if these who contract to supply the livers of ducks and geese do not act against law or social feelings. We ask you to write to us what do you know and what do you think about it.
Faithfully yours,
Kalisian Group
of The Greens' Federation