Did you know that a lot of pet food is tested on animals? And, I don’t mean taste-tested, as in, “Here doggie, try these two samples of dog chow and let me know what you think.”
No – I mean, the food is fed to the animals and then the researchers cut them up to see what it does to their insides.
I was very disturbed when I heard this. Now, I will be the first to admit that PETA often sensationalizes things and makes us animal-lovers look crazy. But, the bottom line is that this testing is going on, and there’s no reason to support it.
The main target for PETA has been IAMS, which is a Procter & Gamble company. Procter & Gamble is one of the largest companies to conduct animal testing on many of their beauty and consumer products – so why support them anyway?
Here is the rebuttal from IAMS. I see that they are claiming to not have killed dogs or cats for years – but how many years? Were they killing them before? And what about other animals?
They also make it clear that they ARE doing muscle and skin biopsies on dogs and cats, which I believe are completely unnecessary.
PETA has free pocket guides to help you find a cruelty-free pet food brand. Check out PETA’s site for more info.
I work for Iams. From the tone of your post, I think you have been misinformed about us. But I wanted to say thank you for including links to http://www.IamsTruth.com. If you're interested, Dr. Steven Hansen of the ASPCA provides some additional insight about our research in this video posted on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dExk5nJY6AI.
Lastly, are you aware of the partnership that P&G has with the HSUS committed to the elimination of animal use for consumer safety evaluations? http://www.pg.com/science/ria_hs_partnership.shtm… (See also: http://www.pg.com/science/animal_alt.shtml)
Thanks again for including http://www.IamsTruth.com in your post.
Hi Bev,
I appreciate your response. I work in marketing and PR, so I am naturally a bit suspicious of corporate PR videos and the like. That includes PETA's propaganda. I'm not saying that either side is lying, but sometimes truths are stretched and information is purposely left out.
What I would like to know is:
1. What tests are being done on the animals – are there any invasive procedures other than blood tests?
2. Are any of the animals euthanized?
3. What if the animals cannot be adopted out – are they sent to a local kill shelter or euthanized?
4. Are any animals besides cats and dogs being tested on?
I would very much appreciate answers to these questions in order to give my readers a fair and balanced view of the issue.
Thanks!
Jen
Thank you, Jen, for your willingness to give a fair and balanced view to your readers. Even if you and I end up agreeing to disagree, I appreciate that you allow me to post here so that your readers can decide for themselves.
You may not know that over 70% of our feeding studies happen in consumer homes. There are over 600 families who participate in our in-home testing.
A few of our studies require in-depth data gathering in a more controlled environment. We do this type of feeding study in our company-owned Pet Health and Nutrition Center where every single dog and cat has a name, a social group, and a lifeplan from the day they arrive to the day they’re adopted. For example, we know that Kay (a yellow Lab) carries Kong balls with her everywhere but won’t touch a Frisbee. Bibs is best friends with Canada but really doesn’t like Randa. We know Gunter is a night owl and Lance loves to sleep. We know what makes Winchester bark and Nigel purr. We know these kinds of facts about all of our animals. We know what treats they like. We know every detail of their medical history, their behavior, their pee and their poop (we have a litter box that costs over a million dollars that tells us.) We even know if they’re left or right handed! This is the relationship we have with our cats and dogs. Our caretakers become so attached to them that often they are the ones that adopt them.
In 2007 we allowed several members of the news media to tour our facility. Their reports are available at:
http://www.iamstruth.com/iamstruth/en_US/jhtmls/l…
There are some very graphic images out there on the Internet in regards to "animal testing" (especially in beauty care products) and they're nothing like what we do. We have an industry-leading animal studies policy that only allows us to do tests that a healthy human would volunteer for. We believe it’s our responsibility to make sure that our foods are wholesome BEFORE they are purchased and fed to someone's dog or cat. We believe that if we make a claim that our food provides x or y, we should have to prove it BEFORE we ask a consumer to believe us. And we believe that the right way to make the best food possible for dogs and cats is to ASK THE DOGS AND CATS who will be eating it.
We NEVER euthanize animals for study purposes, or because they’re no longer working in our program. But we do euthanize animals with a poor quality of life because it’s the humane thing to do. In my own life I've done this for two of my dogs when their physical suffering could no longer be relieved. And I'm not the only pet parent who has helped her dogs to cross the Rainbow Bridge.
As to other species, we do very, VERY little work with rats or mice. We only do it when there is not an alternative.
We are always happy to talk about our research. Give us a call at 800-525-4267, or email us at http://www.IamsTruth.com. Thank you again for this opportunity to post.
Thanks for the information. I have checked this site “IAMSTRUTH” and they are really testing the food before they put on their site.
What a great blog! Thank you for this beautiful article.
Thank you for this great article. my question is that what about other animals like rabbit ?
That’s a great question Miche – I’m honestly not sure!
How about all the vitamin packs added to pet food that have all been tested on animals?
I don’t know of any that are testing. Do you have any specifics?