Viva! 8 York Court Wilder Street Bristol BS2 8QH Tel: 0117 944 1000 Fax: 0117 924 4646 email: media@viva.org.uk	31 May 2000 Viva! victory as M&S withdraw barbary duck Marks & Spencer today announced they would be withdrawing barbary duck from all their stores “due to concerns relating to animal welfare”. The decision marks a victory for Viva!, who had been lobbying the company to stop selling barbary (or muscovy) duck on ethical grounds. The charity’s 52-page Ducks out of Water report reveals how the birds have the ends of their sharp beaks sliced off in an attempt to prevent feather pulling - a product of the stressful conditions on duck factory farms. Muscovy duck beaks have a rich supply of nerves to the tip. Research has shown that debeaking can lead to life-long suffering - similar to the pain suffered by human amputees. Scientists state that, “debeaking of ducklings is traumatic to the bird” (1) and the Institute of Small Animal Research found that, “the lost structures... severely impaired the function of the beak as a probing organ.” Marks & Spencer state, “The barbary duck can be by its nature an aggressive bird and so is grown according to specific rearing practices to control this behaviour. It is these rearing practices, i.e. beak trimming, housing on wire mesh floors and low lighting levels that cause concern and are prohibited by the [new Marks & Spencer] Code of Practice. For this reason, we have decided to stop using barbary duck meat, which is used for a number of M&S prepared food products.” Marks & Spencer are not the first company to respond to Viva!’s campaign. In March, Sainsbury’s stopped selling barbary duck in all its stores and in April, Harrods withdrew all factory farmed duck meat from the shelves of its food hall. Says Viva! director Juliet Gellatley, “We congratulate Marks & Spencer on their principled decision to stop selling barbary duck. Debeaking is a brutal procedure which involves slicing through a highly sensitive organ and denying the duck its sense of feel. It is like slicing off a human’s fingertips. “We now call on Tesco, Asda and Somerfield to follow suit - the only companies which we believe still stock meat from de-beaked ducks,” Ms. Gellatley concludes.