Viva! 8 York Court Wilder Street Bristol BS2 8QH Tel: 0117 944 1000 Fax: 0117 924 4646 email: media@viva.org.uk	19 April 2000 Viva! London Does it for Ducks (Photocall) Members of London Viva! will be celebrating outside Harrods, Knightsbridge, at 12 noon, Saturday, April 22 and giving three cheers for Mr Mohammed Al Fayed. They will then move on and at 1.00 pm will be outside Marks & Spencer, 458 Oxford Street, W1 (next to Selfridges) where they will give a chorus of boos to Mr Peter Salisbury, the store’s chief executive. The group’s double dose of action is in support of the national animal group Viva! and its campaign against duck factory farming. As a result of secret video footage and a major report into the industry, Harrods today decided to remove all factory-farmed ducks from its shelves. M&S continue to sell them, including Muscovy/Barbary ducks. “The conditions for all factory farmed ducks are appalling”, says Becky Smith, Viva!’s campaign co-ordinator. “ They live in their own filth as many as 10,000 to a single shed. These water birds have evolved to swim, play, eat and clean in water but in factory farms they never even see water, except in their drinkers. Harrods have made a principled decision to pull all factory farmed duck meat and we want to congratulate them. And we want to encourage M&S to end their support for animal abuse.” Most ducks sold in the UK are Mallard types but increasing numbers of Muscovy/Barbary ducks are sold, including by M&S. They are subjected to ‘partial beak amputation’ where the bill rim is cut off and seared with red-hot metal. M&S say it is necessary to prevent damage resulting from aggression. “This is a brutal form of animal abuse - it’s like slicing off a human’s finger tips. The birds can’t eat properly and scientists say they can feel the pain throughout their lives. The aggression is a direct result of the conditions,” concludes Ms Smith. For further information contact Becky Smith on 0117 944 1000. Pictures, video footage and the Ducks Out of Water report are all available.