Is Your Dog Food Tested on Chickens?

I thought I had heard it all when it came to pet food. From 4-D ingredients in meat meals, pentobarbital from horse meat labelled as “beef,” to false claims about human quality, the misleading images and downright lies told about pet foods are everywhere. I was sure I had heard every trick in the book. And then today’s Pet Food Industry email newsletter arrived, with this unbelievable article highlighted: Roosters Help Study of Pet Food Protein Digestibility. The subtitle was “A surgical procedure turns roosters into an effective, efficient model for dogs’ and cats’ digestive systems.”

OK, wait a second — the pet food industry is using roosters — surgically modified roosters — to test the digestibility of pet food? I’m sorry, the only words for this are WTF!

Apparently, it is cheaper to subject roosters to a surgical procedure, and use them to assess the digestibility of chicken meal (a rendered, non-human quality product), than to actually assess how the ingredient is handled by dogs and cats. It is also supposed to be more accurate, given that the rooster studies avoid interference by the organisms of the dog’s microbiome, which consume some of the nutrients and could impact the results. Given that every dog has a microbiome, shouldn’t we be taking that into account? Given the current research into and importance attributed to the microbiome, why would we want to exclude it from consideration in a dog’s nutrition? Why in the world would we want digestibility data that did not consider what actually happens in the dog’s digestive tract?

We shun products tested on animals for ourselves — just look at the cosmetics/health and beauty aids industry. We abhor factory farming, and know the value of humanely raised free range livestock and poultry. We even look for the “dolphin safe” label on tuna. And yet the pet food industry thinks it’s acceptable to test foods on surgically modified roosters?

Don’t take it from me, read for yourself. And then ask yourself if this sort of product is something you would choose to nourish your best friend. And please comment on my Facebook page so I can help you find the best nutritional options for you dog.