Viva! 8 York Court Wilder Street Bristol BS2 8QH Tel: 0117 944 1000 Fax: 0117 924 4646 email: becky@viva.org.uk	6 April 2000 Viva! Victory as Sainsbury’s Dump De-beaked Ducks Sainsbury’s supermarkets have responded quickly to Viva!’s national campaign against duck factory farming. In a letter to Viva!, Miss Joanne Gibson, Sainsbury’s customer relations manager, says: “I can confirm that we are no longer selling ducks from suppliers who support the act of beak cutting.” The only duck supplier in Britain which practices partial beak amputation (PBA) is Kerry Foods of Diss. They import Muscovy ducklings from France and their bill rim is removed with an electric beak ‘trimmer’ and the resulting wound seared with a red-hot blade. The procedure can result in lifelong pain and ensures that ducks are never able to eat naturally. “This is just one of the obscenities which our campaign has highlighted”, says Juliet Gellatley, Director of Viva!. “I congratulate Sainsbury’s on their prompt action and call on Tesco, Somerfield, Asda, Harrods and the Co-op to follow suit - all companies which we believe still stock meat from de-beaked ducks. “Almost all duck meat sold in Britain is from factory farmed birds reared in squalid, filthy and overcrowded sheds. This brutal procedure is an attempt to control the inevitable aggression in animals which are still essentially wild. It slices through a highly sensitive organ, which is richly supplied with nerves and sensory receptors, and denies the duck its sense of feel. It is like slicing off a human’s fingertips.” A string of celebrities, including Twiggy, Joanna Lumley and Sir Paul McCartney have thrown their weight behind Viva!’s campaign and a further nationwide series of demonstrations will take place during the Easter period. Note to Editors: For further information contact Juliet Gellatley or Becky Smith on 0117 944 1000. Covert video footage shot inside UK factory farms, still pictures and a 52-page report on duck farming are available on request.