Until the recent Menu Foods recall of over 60 million cans and packages of pet food, Canadians were ignorant to the many dark secrets about our pet food industry. Since March 16, 2007, a host of other pet food manufacturers have joined in recalling their products when they discovered their wet or dry pet foods contained the contaminant melamine. Royal Canin has recently been called to task for overdosing our pets with Vitamin D. What will we trusting pet owners be poisoning our pets with next?

There is NO regulation over the manufacture and sale of pet food in Canada.

Canadians need to band together and stand firm in our demand that the pet food industry in Canada is regulated once and for all. We need to make sure not one more pet becomes ill or dies from tainted pet food. We need to know for certain the food we feed our pets lives up to the claims that its ingredients are as nutritionally balanced as the pet food companies say they are.

Now is the time for action. Please take a few minutes to send a letter to your local MP, and to the leaders of our country to let them know that Canadians are calling for the pet food industry to be regulated.

Sample letters are provided in the link to the right of the page, below the flag. Simply follow the link then save the file to your computer. Links are also provided with contact information for various elected officials. Feel free to personalize the sample letters or write your own. Send letters to as many people as possible. We need to get the word out there and let the government know that we mean business!

The moderators of this site – who we are:

Carol:After my cat was diagnosed with diabetes, I learned that the 'prescription' dry food I had been feeding him had likely caused the disease. I changed his diet and he is now nearly off insulin after a few short months. I have joined the campaign for pet food regulation because I believe that our precious pets should be provided with safe, high quality nutrition.

Linda: My cat became severely ill after eating one of the foods manufactured by Menu Foods. Fortunately, after four intensive days of care, my cat is now in good health. Thousands of others were not so lucky. I joined the campaign for pet food regulation because I want to make sure that pet owners and their beloved pets never have to go through this kind of crisis again.

Mel: Since having one of my cats diagnosed with diabetes and the other with inflammatory bowel disease in the past year, both which likely would have been preventable with proper diet, I have become passionate about feline nutrition and the need for regulation of the pet food industry.

In addition, there are many more working behind the scenes who are involved with doing research, providing information, campaigning and getting the word out there.

Friday, April 6, 2007

Launch of the Canadian Campaign for Pet Food Regulation

Welcome pet lovers!

This site was created in response to the need for regulation in the pet food industry in Canada. Most of us have no idea about the state of pet food regulation until we are faced with illness in our pets. Now, with the recent Menu Foods recall, more and more Canadians – those with sick and those with healthy pets - are questioning the safety and quality of what we are feeding our pets. We need to tell the government that this is not acceptable. Please contact your elected representatives and let them know that you care about this issue. We’ve provided some sample letters you can use in the links to the right, or you can write your own. Personalize them as you see fit. Links to contact information for recipients is also provided for you.

We’ve also provided many links with lots of useful information on pet food regulation, recall info and cat and dog nutrition.

Please email us if there’s a link, article or information you’d like us to consider posting. Share your comments and feedback!

Finally, share this site with everyone you know, whether they have pets or not. Every letter, every email, every phone call counts so please spread the word. We will soon be posting a link to a poster you can print off and post on your local bulletin boards. Come back to the site often for updates – we will post events as they happen to keep you apprised of progress and new developments.

6 comments:

Julie said...

Thank you for this website. I, like many other people have been searching for something to feed my cats. Unfortunately I cannot seem to completely trust any of my "favourite" brands. In the past I have purchased Wellness, Innova, Solid Gold, and Merrick's among others. I wonder if anyone is familiar with a small, preferably Canadian company that makes quality products.

Anonymous said...

Basically, Julie, no one can trust any of the national or international brands right now. I suggest you contact a vet's office and inquire as to the food there and purchase that only. At least until this calamity is thoroughly examined and corrected, we, as pet owners, can no longer put our trust to those brands. My cat, Michelle, is currently undergoing treatment because of the food she ate, and I'm hoping she has a few more weeks or months to live, but it's a short cry to what she would have had, had I not purchased that food to begin with. I had no idea the pet food industry wasn't regulated here in Canada, nor did I realize the "JUNK" they put in pet food, its staggering and upsetting. Let's all strive to ensure this is corrected.

Anonymous said...

First of all, thank you for this web site. I am a Canadian living in Europe and am very concerned about this situation but am finding virtually no Canadian web sites devoted to this problem. So, thank you for this site and also for linking to those US sites (petconnection.com, etc.) who are excellent sources of information.

It is devastating what is going on with cats and dogs throughout North America -- so much heartbreak, so little accountability... it's shameful.

Checking out itchmo.com this morning, I came across a page where they list a number of sites who assist pet owners financially if they don't have the money to get help and treatment for their pets. I would love to contribute to such an organization in Canada -- any suggestions?

Jude

Julie said...

Jude, there is an organisation in Canada that helps people who cannot afford pet care. It's called the Farley Foundation. The website is www.farleyfoundation.org.

Anonymous said...

Julie -- thank you so much for that link.

I was also thinking about the local SPCAs and animal shelters -- I'm sure that they need all the help they can get right now.

Jude

Anonymous said...

Hi everyone - it certainly makes you think. I have no idea if pet food is regulated in Australia (I feed my cat a combination of raw meat, chicken necks and a variety of commercially prepared wet and dry foods)and he does supplement it himself with mice, lizards and frogs (ick!) but I will certainly be investigating it.