Eater.com
April 25, 2013
Not only are anti-foie activists targeting restaurants, they are targeting individuals. Activists hacked the website of respected foie producer Hudson Valley Foie Gras and distributed many of the names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of their customers to animal rights groups, the Orange Country Register reports.
Included on the list are actor/food blogger David Alan Grier and pro-foie California chef Amar Santana, whose Laguna Beach, CA restaurant Broadway by Amar Santana had received threats from PETA. Santana says he has been receiving “harassing calls since the information went public Wednesday.”
The hackers submitted an anonymous letter to the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, saying: “For Earth Day we targeted Hudson Valley Foie Gras, the largest foie gras farm in the United States. Hudson Valley Foie Gras tortures birds and pollutes the earth … We temporarily took down their website (www.hudsonvalleyfoiegras.com) and online store, and uncovered name/address/phone number/credit card details for over 1,200 customers who purchased foie gras and duck flesh products between June 2012 and April 2013.” The list of names has also been published on the site Negotiation is Over!
Marcus Henley, the operations manager at Hudson Valley Foie Gras, says “state and federal authorities” are investigating the incident and that they don’t “have a response at this time.”