Canine Health Concern (England)

PO Box 7533, Rait, Perthshire PH2 1AD

Telephone 01821 670410

PRESS RELEASE

19 November 2008

FAT PETS - GOVERNMENT TARGETING THE WRONG PEOPLE

New codes of practice state that people who refuse to put seriously fat pets
on a diet could be prosecuted under the Animal Welfare Act, facing a fine of
up to £20,000 or 12 months in jail. Proposed legislation fails to take into
account the role of the pet food manufacturing industry, which sells junk
food laden with unnecessary grains and sugars. Junk food causes obesity in
pets.

The result of poor quality junk foods are just the same for pets as they are
for humans. You end up with obese but malnourished individuals, prone to
chronic illness and early death.

Dogs and cats are carnivores. If left to their own devices, their diet would
consist of small to medium-sized prey. However, the pet food industry
ensures that dogs and cats now eat industrial waste, laden with grains and
sugars. According to the Pet Food Manufacturers Association website, "The
industry's use of by-products from the human food and agricultural
industries prevents the need for, and the costs of, disposal." Pet food
saves on landfill sites - which is great for the environment, but not
necessarily good for pets. (1)

In the natural world, dogs and cats eat muscle meat, bones, organs, and only
a small quantity of grains and vegetables. Pet food, however, typically
contains snouts, feet, spleens, skin - inferior parts of animals that cannot
go into the human food chain. Not wholefoods. The natural diet for dogs
would consist of about 60%+ raw muscle meat, offal and bones, and the
percentage would be even higher for cats. The balance in manufactured pet
food does not match this criteria.

According to the PFMA web site, "Dogs and cats have no absolute dietary
requirement for carbohydrates", but admits that cereals such as corn, rice,
wheat, and barley are added to pet food. Some grains might be acceptable,
although not necessary - but many pet foods are mostly grain-based. (2) The
PFMA also admits that sugar is added to dog and cat food. (3) Dogs and cats
have no dietary requirement for refined sugar.

"Of course animals are going to be obese if their 'energy' requirements are
met by grains and sugars - foods that they are not designed to eat in large
quantity," says Catherine O'Driscoll of Canine Health Concern. "They are
also going to be malnourished, because they're not getting the balance of
nutrients they need. Since the introduction of junk pet food dogs and cats
are suffering life-long chronic illness, and dying years before their time."

"Unfortunately," says vet Richard Allport, "the pet food industry unduly
influences the veterinary profession. Some pet food manufacturers even pay
the salaries of lecturers who teach in veterinary teaching colleges. This is
reprehensible. It unfairly influences vets, who in turn unwittingly mislead
their clients. The result is a chronically malnourished yet obese pet
population."

Dr Michael Fox, formerly chief vet at the Humane Society, says: "Processed
carbohydrates cause a periodic 'sugar rush' every time the dog or cat eats.
This damages the liver and the pancreas, resulting in the conversion of
sugar into body fat. The 'sugar rush' and insulin surge (until the pancreas
becomes exhausted) make many dogs and cats constantly hungry, so they
quickly become obese. Owners think their pets love the dry food because they
always want to eat it.

"Animals who become overweight primarily as a result of the kinds of
manufactured foods they are fed, rather than simply being over-fed and
under-exercised, are likely to develop a host of health problems like
diabetes, arthritis, skin disease, chronic inflammations, and infections
like cystitis, gingivitis, and otitis, heart and liver disease, and cancer."

If the government insists upon instigating legislation that penalises pet
owners whilst ignoring the role of the multi-million pet food industry, it
does a disservice to pets and their owners. It is targeting pet owners who
have been misled by industry through massive advertising campaigns and
veterinary misinformation.

The manufacturers of unhealthy foods for children are curtailed in their
ability to propagandise their products to children. Canine Health Concern
and its veterinary supporters suggest that the pet food industry needs such
curtailment.

ends

Notes to the editor

1. Please take a look at the Pet Food Manufacturers Association web site,
and you will see the PFMA boast that the pet food industry makes use of
waste product from the human food and agricultural industries.
http://www.pfma.org.uk/pet-food-ingr...ngredients.htm

Quote: "The industry's use of by-products from the human food and
agricultural industries prevents the need for, and the costs of, disposal."

See also http://www.pfma.org.uk/environment/environment.htm (We're talking
landfill sites.)

2.. On cereals, see:
http://www.pfma.org.uk/pet-food-ingr...et-food--3.htm

Quote: "Cereals provide an important source of energy, a proportion of
protein and other nutrients including thiamine and niacin. Although dogs and
cats have no absolute dietary requirement for carbohydrates, they present an
excellent energy source in an easily digestible form. Good sources of
carbohydrates in pet foods are usually cereal based such as corn (maize),
rice, wheat, barley or sorghum. Certain fibres (for example moderately
fermentable fibres such as beet pulp or rice bran) can have beneficial
effects on the health of the digestive tract."

In fact, grains are used in pet food because they're cheap fillers.

3. Please also see
http://www.pfma.org.uk/images/storie...0nutrition.pdf.
This highlights the admission that pet food manufacturers add sugar to their
foods. The pet food industry historically grew from confectionary
manufacturers which needed an outlet for their waste products (viz., Mars
and Nestle).

Quote: "The term "various sugars" is a category description, which may refer
to sucrose (cane sugar, commonly known as table sugar), fructose and
glucose, all of which are natural products present in fruit, vegetables and
cereals. Some manufacturers may add sugar to pet foods as an energy source.
Through digestion dogs and cats can easily convert sugar in to usable
energy. Manufacturers may also add very small amounts of sugar to assist
with the cooking process. When the sugars are cooked along with the meat it
results in the browning of the meat and the production of natural sugars,
(just the same as those produced in the cooking of the Sunday roast), this
provides a pleasing colour and enhances palatability. If sugar is added,
levels are carefully controlled to ensure nutritional balance and
palatability."

www.canine-health-concern.org.uk