The Supreme Court said Monday it would not hear a case regarding a California animal cruelty law that bans the sale of foie gras in the state.

A lower court previously dismissed the fowl case in California’s favor.

Foie gras, a dish made from the enlarged livers of ducks and geese, is considered by many to be a product of animal cruelty since the animals are force-fed.

The law, however, does not ban Californians from eating foie gras in the state. They will still be able to order it from out-of-state makers. Restaurants and stores will not be able to sell it or even give it away for free.

The law reads “a product may not be sold in California if it is the result of force feeding a bird for the purpose of enlarging the bird’s liver beyond normal size” and if production forces the animal “to consume more food than a typical bird of the same species would consume voluntarily.” It went into effect in July 2012.

The suit had been originally brought to court by Canadian poultry farmers, a chef who wants to sell it in California and New York-based Hudson Valley Foie Gras. They called the controversial, fatty delicacy the most “maligned and misunderstood food in the world.”

The high court has previously declined to hear the case two other times.

New York City banned foie gras sales in 2019 but the law is not in effect because it is tied up in a court battle.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court voted to keep in place a California law banning the sale of pork products in the state unless the butchered animal had been kept in an area of at least 24 square feet.

With News Wire Services