Controversy
In 1993, Farm Sanctuary was listed as an organization that has "claimed to have perpetrated acts of extremism in the United States" in the Report to Congress on the Extent and Effects of Domestic and International Terrorism on Animal Enterprises. The Department of Justice later retracted the inclusion of Farm Sanctuary in this list. Future editions of the report were printed with a cover letter identifying this mistake, and a letter of apology was sent to Farm Sanctuary.
In March 2003, a Farm Sanctuary employee was charged with animal theft for stealing an injured lamb from a farm and taking it to a veterinarian. Farm Sanctuary founder Gene Baur stated in an interview: "We have taken animals out of bad situations — living animals off of dead piles or trash cans — and we have been willing to face 'theft' charges if needed in doing so."
In 2005, when Farm Sanctuary advocated a foie gras ban in Chicago, they asked Charlie Trotter, who had said he would no longer be serving the product in his restaurants, to join them. Trotter had previously stated "I just said, 'Enough is enough here. I can't really justify this. What I have seen, it's just inappropriate. There are too many great things to eat out there that I don't believe that any animal would have to go through that for our benefit." However, when Farm Sanctuary asked Trotter to sign a pledge stating he would never serve foie gras, he replied saying "These people are idiots. Understand my position: I have nothing to do with a group like that. I think they're pathetic."
Read more about this topic: Farm Sanctuary
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