How ethical is your pet food?

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

thanks for that , talking of ethical pet food , SPEAK have just released this list of MARS inc which is giving money to Oxford University to build the new torture lab - [link= http://www.speakcampaigns.org.uk/ ]http://www.speakcampaigns.org.uk/[/link]
please see the above link for better details
The list is as follows -
Lets also not forget that Mars Inc, who are also known as Masterfoods in Europe, are a manufacturer of pet foods, such as Bounce, Cesar, Chappie, Frolic, James Wellbeloved, Katkins, Kitekat, Pal, Pedigree Chum, Royal Canin, Sheba, Techni-cal (US & Canada), Whiskas. Pedigree (part of Mars Inc) also manufactures Thomas rabbit food and Trill bird food. Mars Inc are also responsible for killing many animals, mainly cats and dogs at their research centre in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. Non-human animals are forced to spend their entire lives as experimental tools, enduring years of research so that Mars Inc can produce pet foods and make millions in profits from sales to consumers who live with and have loving relationships with animals not unlike those behind the walls of the Mars research laboratories.
Mars Inc's best selling confectionary products include: M&M's, Snickers, and the Mars bar. Its other products include 3 Musketeers, Dove, Milky Way, Skittles, Twix, and Starburst sweets. They are also the makers of Combos and Kudos snacks and Uncle Ben's rice.

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

Hi vicki, here's a directlink to the pet foods pages, though the whole site looks interesting:

[link= http://www.ethiscore.org/report.aspx?ID=211603&free=true ]http://www.ethiscore.org/report.aspx?ID=211603&free=true[/link]

Holistic

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

Oh dear...

I have to say I hate feeding my cats because the meat looks so processed and unnatural. Their brand didn't score particularly well, needless to say.

I did score OK on toothpaste though:D

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

Could someone point us in the direction of some very ethical pet food then?

Pauline

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

Information on how to feed pets a natural diet:

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

Pauline

i think it is a case of just using the most ethical you can easily get. i have used jarrah in the past but as it isnt full of all the additives and sugar my cats didnt like it! i was wasting so much i gave up. i do use wiskas organic, but as that scored so badly and is full of all the rubbish as well i may try to purseverewith the yarrah. i am also going to get the burns dry food, a sample arrived today and they seemed to like it!

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

I have my lot on Oscars, its not even on the report.
My little terrier was on Royal Canin, she needed to be, liver and pancreas problems, there was nothing else she could eat.

Without sounding offensive, surely all the suffering that has been endured by the victims of the trials shouldn't go entirely to waste and perhaps our living pets are benefitting by using some of the products in a judicious manner.

Rather like turning down a life saving operation because of the drugs testing

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

i guess it is down to personal choice.

yes all those animals will have suffered, and i can see what you are saying. but if you are anti vivisection then your views are across the board.

when i go to the vets with my boys and my vet says he wants to use the latest drug i decline. my vet states that they are testing on animals for the benefit of animals. does that make it right? not in my eyes.

all those cats dogs and other little furry animals could have been someones pet, but they have been unfortunate enough to have been born in a lab.

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

I have to say, I regard the animals used in lab tests to be pioneers of medicine, just as much as the doctors are. Without them, we would never have life-saving drugs for humans and animals alike.

I take my hat off to the furry pioneers.

Patsy.

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

Was in our vets one day, a woman came in with a young dog with hip dyplasia, even though the dog was insured she would not permit an operation on it as it would cost £2000 and that was too much to spend on a dog, she also for reasons of anti vivisection refused painkillers for it too.
The RSPCA were called and they rescued the dog and she was prosecuted for cruelty. The dog was successfully operated on and is out of pain.

Would you refuse medication and or surgery for yourself/your child /your pet?

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

Sherringham

this is exactly the reason i stated 'latest drugs' in my response. there is no way i agree to the scenario in your posting (lady with dog). i love my babies and they get the best of everything, as soon as they are in the slightest way unwell they are carted off to the vets. i tried to put my views in my posting so not to start off this sort of debate. i obviously failed.

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

Vicki

What is the moral difference between drugs/ chemicals/ foods etc which were first tested over 40 years ago and more on living animals and the 'latest' as you put it.

You say you 'are across the board anti vivisectionist', well that covers all vivisection doesn't it?.

I do my utmost not to use cosmetics that have been tested on animals, this includes soaps shampoos etc.
But if I turned down drugs I would be blind now, there was a new procedure for cataract /eye implants and local anaethestic developed about 2 years ago. My husband would be dead from diabetes, they experimented with insulin on dogs in the early 1920's, not only with the insulin also removing the dogs' pancreas' to see ifthe insulinwould work. He is actually now using the latest development of that.

You say you didn't want a debate, could I ask why you posted then?

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

I would rather not carry on this debate but will respond to this.

Firstly I started this thread with no intention of getting into a debate such as this, but to give a simple link for people to make their own decisions with what to feed their pets. This is an emotive issue and people generally have fairly strong views either way.

I have a responsibility to my cats to keep them well, I chose to have them and I need to look after them. They don’t have a voice so I must choose the option that I feel is best for them. The reason I stated no new drugs is that these tests have taken place, there is nothing I can do to change it, and yes I do use them for my cats. However I do not want to play a part in future animals being used this way.

For myself, I am of the opinion that I would refuse cancer drugs etc and just have the cancer taken out if possible. Having not been in the unfortunate position of having to make that decision I don’t know exactly how I would feel if I was. I hope I would stick to my principles and not be a hypocrite. If a member of my family or friends made the same choice that would be great but I would also respect their decision if they didn’t, we all make our own choices. One of my friends is currently undergoing cancer treatment and I wouldn’t dream of saying she shouldn’t use drugs. These are my principles not hers.

I support medical research that does not use animals, Dr Hadwen Trust being the main one that I support. Medical research is very important, however there are better ways in which to do it than using animals. There are numerous examples of where drugs would not be in use today if they had only been tested on animals.

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

As someone who works closely with Spirit making natural remedies for people and animals, I know that there is another way that doesn't involve testing our remedies on animals.

The indigineous tribes that interacted with Spirit and had a very close relationship with Spirit would be given remedies and cures for their diseases. They knew they didn't have all the answers, and looked to the Great Spirit to help them, and that help was gladly given.

We have removed ourselves from Spirit to the extent that we are all alone in our drug making, and when this happens, we feel the need to test our man-made chemicals first on animals because we are aware that the drugs we are making are toxic to a certain extent and do not work in harmony with the whole of our body, which is why when you treat a particular disease, more problems will be caused to other parts of the body, known as side-effects.

There are now so many diseases that the medical profession are swamped and don't know how to cure a lot of them, and drugs administered invariably lead to other issues. Most of the drugs don't aim to heal the root cause, they are more like bandages that are being used to cover up any holes present, but the initial problem still remains.

I'll stop there before I go off topic.

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

Vicki

I do agree with you to a certain extent that drugs and other items tested on animals solely don't give the whole picture, chocolate, onions and grapes to name 3 every day food stuffs we all eat.

Cosmetic testing on animals was stopped here in the UK in the 1980's, but in line with EU laws it is to be restarted.

Vivisection and animal testing have been around for a long time, I just cannot understand why future animals are so important and those long dead aren't, they must have suffered horrifically as there were no guidelines as to what they were subjected to.

To be quite honest I can't see the relevence of testing on animals anyway as we are a totally different species to other animals and many of the species used have differing results to the same drug.
I feel that paedophiles should be volunteered for drug testing.

But my view as to the use of the drugs etc why waste all that pain and suffering by not using them. I have used them and shall, if needs, be in the future but the good health I regained is put to working with and for animals, for their benefit.

One of my own dogs at the moment is a guinea pig for a prescription food product, we are going to the vet this evening for a valuation of how it is affecting him. He has an arthritic hip and is currently on Rimadyl for the pain, he has had his dose of that cut by half as the food product is helping his condition, and he is walking well and rising from inactivity with a lot less bother and pain.
He has had this condition for many years , he's a golden retriever and has hip dysplasia, for a long time I used homeopathic treatments, but the pain now is beyond what that can help. By the way, the vet we are seeing tonight has been treating him with mainstream and alternative medicine since he was 2 , he's now 10+

I hope you will continue this discussion, I'm just looking at it from a longer time than you, and a cleft stick situation.

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

** With moderator's hat on **

Hey guys, could we please return to the topic of this thread. vicki entitled it "How ethical is your pet food?"

Let's talk about that and not go off on tangents, shall we? Please refer back to post #1 and have a look at the link vicki kindly provided as a basis for discussion.

I personally will return to the thread another time to talk about how I've fed my dogs for a number of years. That's not appropriate right now.

Holistic

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

This website is very interesting, titled "What's really in pet food" - a must read, very informative and exposing what's really in a lot of pet food.

The website is from the Animal Protection Institute.

P.S To the right hand side you can download a guide on products not tested on animals.

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

It does indeed appear to be an informative site. However, as it's Californian, I'm wondering if there would be many discrepancies with the UK in eg legislation, product brand names etc.

Holistic

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

[link= http://www.europa-pet-food.co.uk/products.htm ]http://www.europa-pet-food.co.uk/products.htm[/link]

This product was recommended to me by the breeder who bred my boys, Henry and Ranald, (goldies).
Henry loved it, but his skin did get rather dry and I balanced that with Dorwest Herbs [link= http://www.dorwest.com/ ]http://www.dorwest.com/[/link], they have quite a full range of products.
Horrit ( my Norfolk terrier) also ate Europa and enjoyed it, but Ranald who really needed to use it,hated it!
Its BUAV listed, and does a good range of different needs as the dogs age, and the food is also hypoallergenic.

Buying was a problem I had a 90 mile round trip, but now they offer free delivery.
But I have switched to Oscars (I shan't put a link as not sure whether tested or not), but it is a quality product and at last Ranald loves it, and its also brilliant for their skin and coats, and an added bonus of flea prevention in the recipe, and free delivery.

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

Ok,

I am pushed for time at the moment so I shall give my two peneth worth for the time being; 15 yrs ago my father was a volunteer for a pet food pet care helpline, all the volunteers received a letter from the helpline coordinator informing the volunteers that some of its members have decided to stop being volunteers because the parent company was testing food products on animals.

You may think what is wrong with that, but a lot of human food is highly toxic to dogs and cats, obviously for legal reasons I can not name the company, but I have also come across another pet food companies unethical policies, and that is why I refuse to feed commercial pet food to my dog's.

Now I am not saying every pet food company has unethical policies, but I would rather feed my dog's a natural as nature intended diet.;)

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

Does anyone remember, not too long ago a chicken supplier was supplying meat condemned for pet food for human use, (bleaching it and cutting really decayed bits off)
But it gets me that some 'condemned for human use' is still ok for pets/animals.

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

I have stopped giving my rats battery meat of any description! As rats are omnivores, they do need some meat protein in their diet,but they haveBurns Kibble (mainly Chicken and Brown Rice flavour),which is BUAV and all the meat is free-range! I brought a 15kg bag of rat food a few months ago, which has some got battery meatin the form of small round, flat biscuits...but I take them all out and just feed the rats the rest of the mix! 🙂

RE: How ethical is your pet food?

Did anyone know that IAMS and EUKABANA pet foods are tested on animals in cruel horrific barbaric ways:

[link= http://www.uncaged.co.uk/iams.htm ]http://www.uncaged.co.uk/iams.htm[/link]