A measure to ban foie gras produced through force-feeding has qualified for the November ballot, the D.C. Board of Elections said Wednesday.
Known as Initiative 86 or the Prohibiting Force-Feeding of Birds Act of 2026, the proposal would prohibit the practice and ban the “sale or distribution of any product resulting from force-feeding a bird, including foie gras.”
To get the initiative on the ballot, animal advocacy group Pro-Animal DC submitted more than 46,000 signatures from D.C. voters — nearly twice the minimum required to qualify.
“We want everyone in D.C. to vote on whether or not that cruelty should be allowed,” said Natalie Fulton, media and content lead for Pro-Animal DC.
“We actually turned in more signatures than any other ballot initiative in D.C. history except for recreational marijuana,” Fulton said. “The dedication of everyone is truly incredible to me.”
While collecting signatures, Fulton said people didn’t want to hear about the process once they saw pictures of the ducks being force fed.
“They’d cover their ears or make faces,” she said. “If they knew what foie gras was, they were excited to sign.”
The proposal would find restaurants and businesses caught violating the law with fines ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. Repeated violations may result in their business license being suspended or revoked.
Fulton told WTOP she tried foie gras once at a pop-up restaurant when they had foie gras funnel cake.
“I didn’t know what it was. I just knew I liked funnel cake,” Fulton said. “Once I found out how it was made, I was pretty grossed out.”
Not everyone is against the practice. In a Washington Post column opposing the initiative, Bart Hutchins, the chef and owner of Capitol Hill restaurant Butterworth’s, defended the practice.
He argued that while the process of force feeding looks terrible, the duck’s esophagus is “desensitized” and that ducks in the wild gorge themselves before migration. Foie gras farming, he said, amplifies a natural biological process.
If the ballot initiative passes, it would take effect July 1, 2027.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
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