The truth about pet food testing

Pet food is simply one of those things you never stop to think may involve cruel and painful animal testing.

Think of how cat and dog food is tested and we may think of a cat or dog sitting with a napkin tied to his or her chin, holding a knife and fork and getting ready to tuck into a sumptuous meal.

What we imagine

The real story

What we might not think of is a poor creature stuck in a cage, being force fed to see how much food it will take to make them sick, being debarked (debarking is a veterinary surgery that involves removing tissue from the dog’s vocal chords) and having lumps of muscle cut off because so called ‘scientists’ want to see whether that pet food leads to bigger muscles.

Yet this is what’s happening to cats and dogs and many other companion animals like rabbits and hamsters. The reason is simple – money.  Companies want to be able to make health claims

Here are five ways to can avoid being part of this evil multi-billion dollar and pound industry –

1.If you want to know whether a certain pet food has been tested on animals, then visit the PETA or Uncaged websites. They have lists of companies who test their food on an army of doggy volunteers who live in their own homes where they are cared for and loved. They are not shoved into cages or kennels and

http://www.peta.org/

http://www.uncaged.co.uk/  

2.Write to companies who do test on animals and tell them that you will NOT be buying their pet food because the way they test it is unacceptable to you and your moral beliefs. Or even better, get friends to sign a petition and send that in or deliver it in person.

3.Buy only pet food from companies listed on the PETA and Uncaged websites. The more pet owners who buy from them, the less profits the unethical companion food makers will make.

4.Send for free samples of the foods that are tested on animals and put them right in the trash. Companies give out samples because they want you to buy. Imagine how much money they will lose out on if people get samples with no intention of ever buying.

5.Write to politicians and demand to know why these cruel companies are allowed to do things to companion animals that would land you in prison.

FACT - The US Department of Agriculture investigated a complaint by PETA in 2006 about invasive testing of Procter & Gamble’s IAMS brand.  This followed an undercover investigation by PETA which was well documented in the press. The USDA agreed with PETA that the laboratory had failed to provide veterinary care and pain relief to suffering animals, not provided animals with sufficient space. There were 40 other violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act in total.