Mr Flapper Duck

A reporter from The Spectator, the school newspaper for Seattle University, wrote an article about foie gras protestors this week.

Photo credit: Garrett Mukai

This wasn’t Flapper’s best angle, but he still made a good model. There’s room to make a comment below the article, so if you have a minute, please comment about how cruel foie gras production is, and how you’d like Lark Restaurant and Quinn’s Pub to remove it from their menus.

Click here to read the article.

Flapper attended his 2nd demonstration against foie gras on Friday night.

He did really well, again, and seemed to enjoy himself quite a bit.

He met quite a few new people, including restaurant patrons and fellow demonstrators.

And he still saved time for water and treats.

This kid riding by on a bike with his dad was pretty surprised to see a duck. He had a huge smile after meeting Flapper.

Several people who went into the restaurant stopped to say hello to Flapper. And several stopped by on their way out as well.

Flapper seems to think demonstration time is our quality time together, so I think that’s why he likes it so much. He finally has me all to himself, without any other ducks around. He has treats, water, and everyone stops to talk to him and pet him.

That’s Flapper’s idea of a great Friday night.

And mine, too.

All photos courtesy of Brianna Wettlaufer. Thank you, Brianna! Special thanks to NARN, the Northwest Animal Rights Network, for all they do to stop & prevent cruelty to animals.

Learn more about NARN’s campaign for a foie gras-free Seattle by visiting their website at http://narn.org/foiegras/.

Learn more about how foie gras is produced: http://www.banfoiegras.org/page.php?module=article&article_id=15

Flapper attended his first demonstration this past Friday evening.

Lark restaurant in Seattle serves foie gras on their menu. Foie gras is fatty duck liver, produced in factory farms where ducks are force-fed many times a day until their livers swell to nearly 10x normal size. It’s torture. There’s no gray area. It’s clear animal cruelty. Many places have outlawed it entirely, and many great chefs have publicly stopped using foie gras because of the cruelty inherent in how it is produced.

So Flapper joined the Northwest Animal Rights Network in a rally against cruelty to ducks, to encourage Lark restaurant to remove foie gras from their menu.

Flapper and I sat right outside the entrance to Lark, so customers could meet a healthy, happy duck before they enter a restaurant that serves diseased, tortured ducks on their menu. He let people feel his soft feathers and he really enjoyed all the attention. He ate some peas and sat on my lap while people took his picture.

Flapper did so well (he wasn’t stressed or frustrated) that we’re going to go back and try it again this Friday, if we can. It’s too easy these days to eat a meal with no thought as to how it got on your plate. Hopefully Flapper can help people see that torture is not acceptable on any menu.

You’re a good duck, buster. Mwah.

Special thanks to the members of NARN for all they do to end animal cruelty. You can learn more about them on their website:

http://www.narn.org

All photos courtesy of David Shink.

Well, Flapper and I are home from the demonstration at Lark restaurant. We went there to say “thank you” to all the nice people from the Northwest Animal Rights Network (http://www.narn.org) who spend their Friday nights trying to reduce the suffering of animals by asking Lark to remove foie gras from their menu.

I have to say, Flapper did SO well. In fact, I was a little bit of a stress puppy, but Flapper was pretty chill. He got a tiny bit stressed when I moved from one spot to another, but he settled right back down and let everyone pet him and talk to him. We sat right at the entrance to Lark restaurant so people who came and left could see what a healthy, happy duck looks like… as opposed to the ducks who are tortured and suffer so Lark can serve foie gras (swollen, diseased liver) on their menu.

What did you think of the demonstration tonight, Flapper?

“Nom nom nom, these fries are good.”

“One more fry and then I’ll talk.”

“Okay. I thought the people were nice. They took a lot of photos of me and I can totally understand that. I’m photogenic! They touched and petted me, which was fine… but now I have to wash off all these human cooties.”

That sounds about right, Flapper. What did you think of that cranky guy who mouthed off to the nice animal rights people?

“Mm… I don’t know. What did you think?”

I thought he was a douchebag, personally.
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha.”
Sorry for the strong language, Flapper. But he really was. I kept thinking of him all the way home. When he and his wife walked up to the restaurant, and the demonstrator tried to hand him a pamphlet… he was just rude and mean to swear and mouth off like that. Even his wife was trying to get him to shut up. I just kept thinking… what a douchebag, you know? All these nice people with purpose and meaning in their lives are spending their Friday nights to reduce suffering for animals. And that guy? He probably just sucked air all day and then mouthed off.

“He probably needs to spend more time with ducks.”
Yeah, you could be right, Flapper.

Anyway… forget about him. I was really proud of you tonight, Flapper. You did really great and didn’t get stressed out a bit. Except for when you fell asleep on the job, I think you did really well. Let’s try it again another Friday night, okay buster?

“Do I get fries again?”

Definitely. Mwah. G’nite buster.

We didn’t take any photos but I am sure people who did will share them with us. So when I can get a few, I’ll post them to the blog. Very special thanks to everyone from NARN who showed up tonight (and other nights) to help reduce suffering for animals. It’s great to meet people who have purpose and passion and take the time to make a difference.

Thank you.

NOTE: Flapper gets a handful of fries a few times a year as a treat. He really loves them, but they’re not great for him. So he only gets them sparingly and in moderation.

Friday evening (April 17th), Flapper will join a group of good eggs who are trying to get foie gras banned from Seattle restaurants. If you don’t know how foie gras is made, be warned… it’s one of the cruelest forms of animal torture out there. And it passes as a “delicacy” in fine restaurants. Here is a link to a video inside Hudson Valley Farms, the largest seller of foie gras in the US.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNJDZm1bgVA
WARNING: It’s a very graphic video.

Foie gras is fatty duck or goose liver. Ducks & geese are force-fed many times a day, an enormous amount of food. This causes their livers to grow to 10-TIMES their normal size from swelling and disease. Then the ducks are slaughtered for this “delicacy.” Read more about it from the Humane Society’s website:

http://www.hsus.org/farm/resources/research/welfare/the_foie_gras_industry.html

The Northwest Animal Rights Network (http://www.narn.org) has been protesting a local Seattle restaurant called Lark every Friday evening, to convince them to take foie gras off of their menu. Lark has so far resisted, but they have said they will take the public’s opinion into consideration.

Since Lark is taking the public’s reaction into account in continuing to serve foie gras, please contact Lark and let them know that you would like to see them remove it from their menu. Taking two minutes to do this will really make a difference for the ducks and geese who are force fed to create this cruel product.

Tel: (206) 323-5275
Email: info@LarkSeattle.com

Flapper will drop by the protest this Friday evening to thank the good eggs who help prevent cruelty to his fellow feathered friends. If Flapper likes his visit, we’ll probably do it again. If not, I’ve promised him some french fries on the way home.

Special thanks to all the good eggs who are working to prevent cruelty to animals. We’ll report back after the protest to let you know what Flapper thought of it.