Nestled in a stroller in Solly’s bar in Shaw, Olivia Gray had had a long day.
After the Swedish blue duck waddled between multiple polling stations making her case for D.C.’s Initiative 86, the measure overwhelmingly passed Tuesday night, banning foie gras, the French dish made from an enlarged liver of a duck or goose, often derived from force-feeding.
But regardless of the outcome, Olivia may have more work to do.
Questions remain about how the foie gras ban will be enforced, and a foie gras producer plans to take legal action against it. As the D.C. Council must address the cost, enforcement and a potential legal challenge, the conversation is set to swell as activists seek to expand foie gras bans around the country.
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In the weeks leading up to the vote, a number of chefs advocated against the ban, worrying about its effect on the industry as the District faces an economic decline. Perhaps the loudest local advocate against the ban, Butterworth’s head chef Bart Hutchins, described foie gras as “central” to his restaurant’s menu.
“My biggest disappointment in losing tonight is that I have to keep talking about it,” Hutchins told The Washington Sun on Tuesday after results were released. Hutchins told The Washington Post that he plans to serve the dish “for another decade.”
Hudson Valley Foie Gras farm manager Marcus Henley told The Sun on Wednesday that he plans to legally challenge the ban. Hutchins said he plans to support the effort led by the New York-based farm.
“I worry about the distributors. I worry about the restaurants,” Henley told The Sun, describing the ban as a “dangerous precedent” dictating what farmers can produce. Along with banning the sale of foie gras and the practice of force-feeding birds in the District, Initiative 86 also bans the importation of the specialty dish.
California, Portland, Oregon and New York City have all passed bans on the product, the production of which can involve sticking metal feeding tubes down the necks of ducks and geese, a practice animal-rights activists have described as making birds diseased and sick. The New York City ban has gone through a multi-year legal battle led by Hudson Valley Foie Gras and another producer.
The farm plans to bring the challenge to the D.C. ban forward before its July 1, 2027, implementation date, Henley said.
The D.C. Council will have to navigate the issue of enforcement. Late 2025 estimates from D.C. Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee indicated implementing the ban would cost $314,000 over a three-year period. The initiative is expected to expand Department of Energy and Environment inspections, and civil penalties for violating the ban would range from $1,000 to $5,000 per day.
Both the challenge and enforcement are now in the hands of the D.C. Council, said Natalie Fulton, an organizer with Pro-Animal Future, the animal rights organization that pushed to pass Initiative 86.
“We are not afraid,” Fulton told The Sun. “We expect D.C. Council to respect democracy.”
Oye Owolewa, an early supporter of the initiative who won an at-large council seat on election night, said he is already looking at how he might be able to shape enforcement of the ban. He felt voters were probably swayed by its unique marketing in Olivia the duck.
A vibrant personality on social media, Olivia spent most of election night giving watch party goers high fives as they munched on vegan sliders and pizza. Small golden duck statues were decorations on guest tablescapes.
Olivia’s owner, Meghan Abrego, imagines a next step could be a federal committee exploring a national ban on foie gras. Denver approved a similar foie gras ban as the watch party dragged on.
“I want to dream bigger,” said Abrego, Olivia quacking nearby.
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