A well-known Staffordshire TV personality is urging the county council to discourage the sale of foie-gras in the county. Wendy Turner-Webster, presenter of popular TV shows such as Pet Rescue, and patron of leading animal group Viva!, says she is campaigning to make her home county a kinder place to live by making Staffordshire foie-gras free. Joined by her husband, TV actor Gary Webster bearing a placard and giant duck, Ms Turner-Webster presented a letter with evidence of the alleged cruelty involved in the production of foie-gras to Staffordshire County Council, urging the authority to pass a motion to become the first in Britain to become officially foiegras free. City councils in Bolton, York and Norwich made headlines last year by banning the use of foie-gras on council property or at in-house functions and events. Foie-gras is produced by force feeding ducks or geese large amounts of food so that their livers swell to up to ten times the normal size. It is not produced in Britain, as its production would contravene existing animal welfare regulations. Wendy Turner-Webster said: "There is nothing humane about mechanically inducing disease in a bird by forcing a pipe down his throat and making him consume such an abnormal quantity of food that his liver expands many times its normal size. "I'm urging my home county of Staffordshire to be a trailblazer for animal welfare and give this cruel pâté the boot. The county council has the power to officially ban foie-gras from their buildings and educate local businesses. Those businesses can vote for welfare by taking it off their menus. Of course, all the people of Staffordshire can do their bit by vowing to boycott it." A spokesman for Staffordshire County Council said: "We do not have the powers to ban the sale of foie-gras. We do not use it for civic functions and have no plans to do so." | 
