Posted on Thu, Jul. 12, 2007
A Philadelphia Common Pleas Court judge ruled this afternoon that protesters of foie gras cannot interfere with Bastille Day festivities planned for this Saturday at the London Grill restaurant on Fairmount Avenue.
The ruling slightly relaxed the stipulations of a temporary restraining order set in place last Friday. According to today's decision, the protesters -- members of the nonprofit animal rights group called Hugs for Puppies -- cannot enter the Fairmount neighborhood on Saturday except to have no more than four people handing out pamphlets more than 50 feet away from the restaurant.
The London Grill serves foie gras -- the fatted liver of an overfed goose -- and has been the setting for several demonstrations by the group since late May.
London Grill owner Terry McNally said: "I think this will make us feel safer as long as they comply with it."
The American Civil Liberties Union lawyer representing Hugs for Puppies, Mary Catherine Roper, said, "We think the injunction is more severe than is necessary." She added that, in regard to Bastille Day, the protesters wanted only to peacefully hand out pamphlets.
Contact reporter Katie Stuhldreher at 215-854-2601 or stuhldk@phillynews.com
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