India has banned the import of foie gras, a government notice said, after animal rights activists complained that the method used to produce the duck liver delicacy was cruel.
"Import policy of the item 'foie gras'... is revised from 'free' to 'prohibited'," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in the notice on its website.
An Indian government official could not immediately say Friday how much of the gourmet food the country imported.
But animal rights groups said the delicacy was being increasingly promoted by upscale restaurants in the country.