US Petsmart investigates Rainbow pet supplier

 

Following allegations made by an animal rights group against one of its major pet suppliers, the U.S. company Petsmart has taken matters into its own hands and is now investigating the matter for itself.

“These allegations are troubling and we’re taking them very seriously, which is why we’re conducting an investigation,” Petsmart stated on their website.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) launched a campaign entitled “Petsmart Cruelty” designed to stop the retail chain from selling animals, after a PETA activist who worked undercover at Rainbow Exotics in Hamilton, Texas, in late 2007, filmed violations against federal laws. These violations included the unsafe neutering of a rabbit, unmet housing requirements, and improper handling of sick or dead animals.

Petsmart said it is particularly concerned with a section of the video that “implies that a Rainbow staff member killed a hamster by stepping on it,” and a portion that “shows a Rainbow staff member conducting a surgical procedure on a rabbit.” However, Petsmart believes the video to be not entirely clear, and for this reason they are conducting an investigation.  

In a written statement, Rainbow have described the allegations by PETA as “somewhat misleading”, adding that the company was committed to the proper treatment of animals and employed a full-time, licensed, practicing veterinarian on staff. 

According to the Texas Farm Bureau’s website, Rainbow won the 2004 Agribusiness of the Year award for Hamilton County, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture records indicate that Rainbow has an up-to-date license, which was granted in 2005.

In its online statement, Petsmart said, “We use only USDA-licensed breeding facilities for our pet suppliers, and we require that our breeders have a licensed veterinarian on staff. We expect our breeders and their veterinarians, including Rainbow, to be true to our high standards for pet care as well as those required by regulation.”

Source: Pet Product News International, March 2008

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AQIS dogs show off their skill

 

Coinciding with their Something To Declare: Centenary of Quarantine 1908-2008 exhibition, the National Museum of Australia put on a dog show of a different kind in their Main Hall to demonstrate AQIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service) detector dogs in action.

Chinook, Hooch and Huck—a Shepherd Cross, Labrador and Beagle—showed off to over 500 children and adults who came and watched the display.

The dogs are trained to sniff out all sorts of smells in airport luggage and international mail to stop contraband from entering the country. They can detect anything from meat and dairy to honeybees, eggs, and even reptiles.

Beagles like Huck are believed to have a nose over 100 times more sensitive than a human’s, and they are used at the airport to uncover items such as grapevine cuttings, mangoes or even queen bees concealed in places as bizarre as a traveller’s underpants, armpits, or inside fountain pens.

AQIS uses Chinook, Hooch, and other trained dogs of the same breed to screen every item of mail that comes through international mail centres and air courier depots around Australia. Whether a contraband item is labelled as containing ‘buttons’ or ‘wallpaper samples’, the AQIS detector dogs are not fooled and can tell exactly what is being smuggled in.

Aside from the doggy demonstration, the National Museum's exhibition included the animatronic ‘big bugs’ used in the Quarantine Matters! ads shown around the country, and eight banners highlighting the role Australia has played in quarantining exotic pests and diseases over the past 100 years. 

Source: AQIS Bulletin Jan/Feb 2008

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Iams "8 out of 10 vets" ad misleading, according to ASA

 

UK’s Procter & Gamble has gotten itself into some hot water with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), after releasing ads claiming that “8 out of 10 vets recommend Iams”.

The ASA has ordered the company to remove the statement “Voted No. 1 by vets” from future ads they had planned for Iams cat food, following a complaint that the two magazine ads were misleading.

The claims used for the ads were based on an independent survey of 334 vets carried out at the British Small Animal Veterinary Association Congress (BSAVA) in April 2007.

After studying the survey, the ASA found that only 31% of the participating vets recommended Iams over the total selection of 11 dry cat food brands, while two other brands received more recommendations than Iams.

Iams maintained that its results were in reference to dry cat foods sold in supermarkets, as the other two brands were only available in pet food shops, but the ASA said this was not made clear in its advertising.

Source: Steve O’Malley, UKPets, March 2008

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Menu Foods reaches agreement “in principle”

 

Menu Foods has agreed in principle to settle lawsuits with pet owners in the United States and Canada. The company was forced to recall their contaminated pet food last year after it was said to have led to the deaths of thousands of dogs and cats in North America.

 

“It’s a comprehensive settlement,” said Amy W. Schulman, a lawyer for Menu. “It would resolve all the claims.”

 

Ms Schulman was unable to disclose how much the settlement would be worth, but the company did state that it anticipates costs associated with the recall to be somewhere around USD$53.8 million.

 

First announced in March 2007, the recall was expanded several times, becoming one of the biggest recalls in North American history.

 

Menu recalled tens of millions of containers of pet food when melamine, a chemical used to make plastics, was found in samples tested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The contaminant was traced to wheat gluten imported from China.

 

“We’re pleased we’ve been able to come to an agreement in principle on the major terms of the settlement,” said Sherrie R. Savett, a lead lawyer for the pet owners. “We’ve committed to the court we will have a fully drawn settlement agreement by May 1.”

 

Source: Geoff Mulvihill, The Associated Press & Reuters Ltd, March 2008