Cruelty Free

[Juju]

Hi everyone,

 

It's been awhile since I've checked it here & after some reasercch I've been doing lately, thought this could be a good spot to share some knowledge & possibly change the world. I hope to make this a short post as this is a topic I have become quite passionate about and I can go on & on

 

So my new years resolution is to go 100% cruelty free. It's not hard, you just have to look harder, download apps & think a little bit more.

 

So with all my Googling I was utterly discusted to learn that big brand dog & cat foods inhumanley test on animals. How does this make any sense? What we feed our prized pets, other less fortunate babies, who have stumbled into the wrong hands of man, suffer horrible lives & eventually die the most awful deaths. It is F*#@%d up (please excuse me)

 

www.crueltyfreekitty.com/pets/cruelty-free-pet-food/#brands

Please view this website

 

Brands such as Iams, Hills Science Diet, Eukanuba, Whiskas, Pedigree, Royal Cannin & more.....Yes, all test on animals.

 

Theres more, The Body Shop and Avon are not 100% Cruelty free even though they claim to still be, as they are owned by L'oreal & they import to China where by law every product consumed by people must be tested on animals, which meas they are open to animal testing.

 

Estee Lauder, Colgate, Palmolive, Revlon, Cover girl, Johnston & Johnston, Aveeno, Dove, just to name a small few

 

Are you familiar with Lush hand made body products? 10 stars to Lush, they were offered business in China but turned them down, they said animals come before money. I think that's frickin awesome!

 

If I can just change 1 person to think different from this 'board room/discussion' I will be happy. Did you know Beagles are the most common dog used in laboratories?

 

I myself have an elderly cat with IBS..yes lovely..who can only eat Hills prescription i/d. I have started her on some human probiotics & am extra extremely slowly introducing a new cruelty free grain free diet (Core) & I'm happy to say things are looking good.

 

If interested Google 'Modere' not animal products, but cruelty free, 100% environment friendly, including the plastic packaging, natural products.

 

Check out PETAs website & they have a great app to down load. My favorite one use is the Cruelty Cutter app, by Beagle freedom.

 

I'm going to stop there. This is where I could possibly get nasty about animals that suffer unnecessary pain & horrible lives.

 

Thanks & sorry this is not really about border collies

[Maralynn]

I wouldn't trust anything PETA says when it comes to being "cruelty free" they euthanize most of the animals they get in at the shelter they run. They don't even try to find them homes for the most part. Just intake and euthanize.

 

And yup, I did know that about beagles. One one hand, it should be kept to a minimum, IMO. OTOH, any meds that are prescribed to our dogs have been tested on laboratory beagles. It's not just a black and white issue.

 

ETA, I do think it's good to support things that line up with our ethics. But be aware that there is a LOT of hype on both sides that needs to be sorted through to make accurate, objective decisions.

[gcv-border]

Agree with Maralynn. ^^^

 

Particularly with regard to PETA. I will never trust them or patronize their website or any associates.

[Mark Billadeau]

Either we consider no testing of new drugs before allowing companies to market or when humans are willing to participate in pre-clinical trials of potential new drugs (for efficacy, side-effects, determination of dose, administration routes, metabolism of the drugs, etc.) then perhaps we can consider no animal testing. Who is ready to sign up as a test subject for determining LD50s for new drugs and chemicals????

 

I really like how the linked webpage states there are alternatives to animals testing and provides a link to another webpage (on the same website) which states scientists are working on potential alternatives to animal testing. One click and the argument goes from definitive alternatives to maybe in the future.

 

Animal testing is necessary. Animal testing needs to be done as compassionately as possible and judiciously.

[waffles]

My thoughts exactly Mark. It is necessary unless people are willing to sign up for such experiments.

 

I remember in the early 2000's when Iams was outed for their testing. Big billboards on our thruway with awful photos. How do people think the companies know how their food affects your dogs and cats if they don't test it on dogs and cats? The Iams thing seemed like they were definitely not being respectful at all of the animals but when done with respect to the animals, it is necessary to test before marketing a product or drug. Otherwise your family pets are the test subjects.

 

I too am another who will not support PETA. Please donate your hard earned money elsewhere: to local rescue especially where you can see where the money is being spent and not on mailers, ads, high salaries and killing pets in their shelters.

[urge to herd]

What everyone else has already said about PETA - and the basics of reality. I wouldn't take a drug that hadn't been rigorously tested. Yes, let's be as humane as possible about it, and while we're at it, make sure enforcement of laws in place is reasonably funded.

 

Ruth and Gibbs

[D'Elle]

I agree with the replies, esp. Ruth's comment above.

Most especially I agree with what replies have said with regard to PETA. Anything that is stated, or endorsed by, or has anything to do with PETA is automatically suspect.

[geonni banner]

Shouldn't this be in the Coffee Break Section?

[gcv-border]

Probably, but it started here.

[Gideon's girl]

Um, if they don't feed pet food to pets, that would be cruelty too. Sorry if I fail to understand this, but how is giving dog food to dogs cruel? They aren't making bad food on purpose and then seeing how quickly dogs die from it. They are making what they seem to think is the best food and then trying to prove that dogs do well on it generation after generation. The only issues I have with that is that these dogs live in a kennel environment, not a home, but I don't think a kennel is cruel, just not best, and I don't actually like the quality of any of the dog foods that do feed trials.

[Juju]

Well there you go. I have dug deeper into the secret life of Peta and am pretty pissed off. Thanks for the heads up.

 

I'm still going to do my bit on staying as cruelty free as I can

[Sue R]

Whenever I hear of PETA being involved in a crusade of any kind, I like to remember that if it is up to the powers that founded and run the organization, no one would be able to have any form of pet, companion, sport, working, military, law enforcement, assistance, etc., animal whatsoever - the ultimate goal of the organization is that all animals are free and to be admired from a distance, and not to be owned by or utilized by any person or people.

 

For that reason alone, I try to source my information elsewhere - theirs always bears that bias.

[waffles]

It's a good thing to be aware of though. To know what companies are doing so you can spend your money with companies who align with your beliefs. It's also why I like to make as much as I can or support local businesses often.

[juliepoudrier]

^^Yes, and one can search through various rating sites to see where companies, nonprofits, charities, etc., rate when it comes to ethical standards, how they money they raise is used, etc. There are lots of resources available to help people live more ethical lives--it just takes research, and sometimes a lot.

 

For example, I had an email recently from the Center for Biodiversity. I did some research on them to see how they spend charitable dollars, what their mission statement is, how they seem to follow their creed or advocate for or promote the work they claim to do/support. Only after doing all my research (and even checking the reporting organizations to make sure that they don't have their own agenda) do I decide if an organization deserves MY support or allegiance.

 

J.

[Pam Wolf]

As far as dog foods go, I suspect most of the testing kennels aren't so bad. A friend worked for Farmland many years back and the dogs were well cared for. The kennels were open to the public. The dogs appeared happy and friendly. I've been out to Purina many times and their kennels are really nice, large and well kept-also open to the public. I doubt food testing kennels are the bad places PETA would have you believe. I do know that some brands use dogs at other companies for testing as the cost of a large number of dogs of various sizes for testing quality of feeds is accost prohibitive to smaller companies. Personally I would be hesitant to use a food not tested.