Restaurateur ‘bullied' into boycotting foie gras

A Gloucester restaurateur has claimed that he was "bullied" into taking foie gras off his menu by campaigners.

Glen Tanswell, proprietor of the Bearlands restaurant, said "constant harassment and intimidation" had forced him into taking the controversial delicacy off the menu.

He criticised the local police for failing to offer his staff and customers any protection.

"My main gripe is not with the protesters, it is with the police," he told local reporters. "I tried to get their help numerous times. Customers were saying they felt intimidated. We had cancelled orders and I had to pull it to save the business."

A group called Gloucestershire Animal Action claimed that it has now succeeded in having foie gras withdrawn from the menus of 40 restaurants in the past three years.

A spokesman for the group said that its protests were lawful adding that its campaigners felt intimidated by restaurant staff at times.

"We would like to thank caring members of the public who supported our activists and wrote polite letters of protest to the Bearlands restaurant," he said.

"Now we would ask that people do not contact the restaurant unless to congratulate them."

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By Daniel Thomas

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