23 June 2000

A Healthy Balance?

There is a high price to pay for providing our pets with a healthy balanced diet according to a report put out today by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, (BUAV). The report claims that pet owners across the country will be shocked to learn that well known pet food companies have carried out, collaborated with or sponsored experimental research that subjects cats and dogs to procedures that have caused suffering. A large proportion of this experimentation has been carried out in the US. But, the report claims, the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition based in Leicestershire and which invests millions of pounds every year into animal research, has carried out procedures that have the potential to cause suffering or distress. Experiments have included the giving of enemas & inserting flexible tubes into the colon, application of skin irritants, frequent changes in diet and deliberate inducements of diarrhoea, all of which Walthams says are non-invasive. The Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition provides services to brands such as Pedigree and Whiskas, as well as Cesar, Sheba, Trill, Aquarian, Winergy and Exelpet. According to Walthams, the animals at their centre: "Closely represent pets in society and the high quality data generated by studies at the Centre may be directly applied to companion animals in the domestic environment." The paradox is that while consumers want convenient balanced diets provided in the form of dried and tinned all-in-one diets, maufacturers are going to meet this need by testing the balance of ingredients first. Related Sites: Walthams British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection