Dear Mr. Austin:

On behalf of our 10,000 members nationwide, I am writing to ask you, please, to cancel the Omni Shoreham's hosting of the Wine Tasting Association (WTA) seminar scheduled for Wednesday evening, October 18th.

We have asked the WTA president, Mark Phillips, to cancel the seminar because the production of foie gras is an extremely cruel practice based on forcing metal tubes down the throats of ducks and geese in order to force them to engorge more food than they otherwise would. The birds can hardly walk, and some cannot walk due to the weight, imbalance and pain caused by having to drag along the unhealthy oversized liver that results from the inhumane practice of force feeding them

We want you to know in advance that if the seminar is not canceled, we will hold a protest demonstration at the hotel. This fax includes a News Release that is on the Internet and that will be faxed to news media this afternoon.

We sincerely hope it will not be necessary to hold the protest demonstration, with signs, bull horns, etc in front of the Omni Shoreham. However, we will do this if the seminar is not canceled. Mr. Phillips has been contacted by the ASPCA and PETA urging him to drop the seminar. We are asking you in your capacity as the hotel's general manager to take the initiative if Mr. Phillips will not.

If you have questions about our plans, please do not hesitate to contact me at 757-678-7875.

I look forward to a response from you as soon as possible.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Karen Davis, PhD
President

Other Info:

10/9/2000: Action Alert - Cancel WTA Foie Gras Seminar United Poultry Concerns. October 10, 2000

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United Poultry Concerns, Inc.
PO Box 150
Machipongo, VA 23405-0150
757-678-7875
FAX: 757-678-5070
www.upc-online.org

(UPC Letter to Omni Shoreham Hotel Re: WTA Foie Gras Seminar)