WASHINGTON — D.C. voters will decide this November whether to ban the sale and distribution of foie gras within the District after the D.C. Board of Elections certified Initiative Measure No. 86 for the general election ballot.
Pro-Animal D.C.—an animal advocacy group also known as Pro-Animal Future—drove the campaign, submitting more than 45,000 signatures from District voters. That total far exceeded the roughly 24,000 valid signatures required to qualify.
The initiative, formally titled the "Prohibiting the Force-Feeding of Birds Act of 2026," targets businesses that sell or distribute foie gras within city limits. Restaurants, specialty food shops and distributors currently offering the product would face a ban on sales if voters approve it.
Proponents argue that foie gras production—which involves force-feeding birds to enlarge their livers—is inhumane. If the measure passes, the District would join other jurisdictions with similar prohibitions, removing the product from menus and retail shelves across the capital.
The measure reached the ballot through the voter initiative process, bypassing the D.C. Council entirely.
