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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
S. B. No. 369
2025-2026
Senator Blessing
Cosponsor: Senator DeMora
To
enact section 959.22 of the Revised Code
to
establish prohibitions against the force-feeding of birds.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
section 959.22 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec.
959.22.
(A)
As used in this section:
(1)
"Bird" means any species of domestic poultry, including
ducks, geese, chickens, turkeys, or quail.
(2)
"Force-feed" means to manually or mechanically force a bird
to ingest more food or any substance than it would voluntarily
consume under normal feeding conditions, including insertion of feed
or any material into the bird's throat or esophagus by tube or
similar device commonly referred to as gavage, cramming,
force-feeding, hand-feeding, or fattening.
(3)
"Force-fed product" means any product or derivative
obtained in whole or in part from a bird that has been force-fed,
including both of the following:
(a)
Food products such as foie gras, magret, confit, pâté, fattened
carcasses, or rendered fats;
(b)
Non-food products such as feathers and down.
(B)
No person shall knowingly do any of the following:
(1)
Force-feed a bird, resulting in the overfeeding of such bird;
(2)
Hire a person to force-feed a bird, resulting in the overfeeding of
such bird;
(3)
Distribute, sell, or offer for sale a force-fed product.
(C)(1)
The director of agriculture shall do both of the following:
(a)
Issue a written warning to a person that violates division (B) of
this section on a first offense;
(b)
Assess a civil penalty of not more than one hundred dollars for each
subsequent offense. Each day of violation constitutes a separate
offense.
(2)
A person that is assessed a civil penalty under division (C)(1) of
this section may appeal the assessment in accordance with Chapter
119. of the Revised Code.