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.

4 Top Cruelty free cosmetics companies

1. Liz Earle

Animal testing? They never do it. Animal products in their cosmetics? ‘None of our ingredients are of animal origin (except beeswax, propolis and manuka honey). All products are suitable for vegetarians,’ says their website

http://uk.lizearle.com/

2. Beauty Without Cruelty

When I first became vegetarian 25 years ago in Scotland, this was the cosmetics brand to trust at a time when other companies didn’t give a monkeys, well about the monkeys, rats, bunnies, cats and dogs they tested their products on.

Their products are Vegan Society Approved and as such suitable for vegetarians too.

http://www.bwcshop.co.uk/

http://www.beautywithoutcruelty.com/

3. Jason Natural Cosmetics

They’re listed on the http://www.leapingbunny.org/  site for good reason.  They don’t test products or ingredients on animals and the only animal product they use is beeswax in a couple of their lip balms. That makes them not only vegetarian, but vegan (if you can without those lip balms).

They even have a handy tool on their website where you can find out where your nearest stockist of their products is http://www.jason-natural.com/store-locator/index.php. Now that’s what you call customer orientated.

4. Neal’s Yard

They promise never to test either their products or the ingredients on animals. And, they have a list of vegan products. Lots of them – 54 pages of them, in fact. I’m in love. Why can’t all companies be this fabulous?

http://www.nealsyardremedies.com/

https://us.nyrorganic.com/

Note – You will notice that I have not included The Body Shop. This is because it’s a contentious one as although they are completely cruelty free they are owned by a company who are definitely not, animal testing L’Oreal. 

It’s also come to my attention that they use animal by-products that you wouldn’t expect in their products, like lanolin (comes from sheep’s wool and therefore definitely not vegan) and someone suggested that make up brushes they sell contain pig’s hair. Not sure if that is true or not.

For more companies who are cruelty free, visit http://www.leapingbunny.org/

Or click on this for a downloaded document on cruelty free companies in the UK http://www.buav.org/_lib/userfiles/files/Guides/BUAVA_LittleBook_OnlineVersion_Feb2011v2.pdf

Nasty animal by-products in cosmetics

You don’t want animal stuff in your cosmetics, right? Here’s some of the nasty stuff to look out for in the list of ingredients –

1-Lanolin

2- Carmine/Cochineal – wee insects boiled and crushed to make a colorant.

3-Tallow – from bones. Yuck. Me too.

4. Elastin (from cows).

5. Beeswax/pollen/other bee products. Down to choice for veggies. A no, no for vegans.

6. Collagen – usually comes from fish. Was given something from Maybelline recently, thinking the company was okay only to discover this muck was in it. End result? In the bin. Maybe it’s blooming not Maybelline.

7.Glycerine (glycerin in the USA) can come from animal and vegetable sources. Unless it says a product is suitable for vegans and vegetarians, assume its animal glycerin.

Note - L'Occitane have been removed from my original list after I was advised that they have lost their Humane Society accreditation.
A statement on the company's site reads - 'L'OCCITANE has long been committed to associations such as One Voice or PETA. Also it was one of the first companies to be admitted to the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) list in 1997. Yet, this association has decided in December 2011 to remove from its list companies operating in China because Chinese authorities may carry out limited tests when registering products for the local market. At no time has L'OCCITANE practiced these type of tests, but nevertheless has been subjected to this position because L'OCCITANE cannot bring formal evidence that these tests are not carried out by Chinese authorities at any time.'