Cindy Kurman/Creative Commons

The law passed in 2004, but the ban started July 1, 2012, so that foie gras producers could have time to find an alternative method for making the fatty liver.

But no one has found a way. 

The law banned the practice of force-feeding ducks and geese on the claim that the method was cruel and inhumane. According to the law, force-feeding is the process of making a bird “consume more food than a typical bird of the same species would consume voluntarily,” a definition that opponents of the ban consider vague.

Still, with the judge’s recent ruling, violators of the law will continue to face a $1,000 fine. 

Reach Reporter Melissah Yang here. Follow her on Twitter here.