|
In the discussion below, animal welfare advocate Sharon
Kirby addresses two timely issues:
* Do Pets Need Their Own Center for Disease Control
* Vivisection (experimentation on live animals) and
animal intelligence.
She has included resources and contact information for those
who would like to share their opinions with the powers that
be.
1. Do Pets Need Their Own Center for Disease Control?
According to In Defense of Animals sources, nearly 40,000
animals
ingested contaminated food manufactured by Menu Foods and
approximately 3,900 cats and dogs have died as a result.
The source of the contamination has been identified as wheat
gluten imported from China contaminated with melamine, a
toxic industrial chemical. On April 18, Natural Balance Pet
Foods announced a recall of all its Venison & Brown Rice Dry
Dog Food and Venison & Green Pea Dry Cat Food in response to
complaints about sick pets. Testing showed that these foods
also contain melamine but from a new source -- rice protein
concentrate imported from China.
A lawmaker said Wednesday Chinese officials have refused to
grant visas to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors
seeking to visit the plants where the ingredients were made.
An FDA spokesman later said the visas were not refused but
that the agency had not
received the necessary invitation letter to get visas.
In a shocking Baltimore Sun news story published April 19
<http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.petfood19apr19,0,4141728.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines>,
federal investigators are probing whether Chinese producers
laced a key ingredient in pet food with the industrial
chemical in order to boost the price of their shipments to
Menu Foods. Melamine is
nitrogen-rich and nitrogen levels are measured to calculate
the protein content, which determines the value of a
shipment.
Senator Dick Durbin met with the FDA officials after
complaining about the agency's handling of the pet food
scare. He and Rep. Rosa DeLauro plan to offer legislation
that would require FDA to develop national
inspection standards for pet food-making facilities, rather
than relying on states. The proposed measure would also
strengthen penalties that FDA could impose on pet food
makers who delay reporting safety
problems, an accusation critics have leveled against Menu
Foods.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is asking
its
approximately 30,000 member veterinarians who suspect they
have treated animals affected by contaminated pet food to
take part in a survey to help generate more information
about the ongoing recall. This survey is being undertaken
through an agreement between the
American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians
(AAVLD) and the FDA. AAVLD will be gathering data on behalf
of the FDA, and will use it to define what constitutes a
confirmed case of food-induced kidney toxicity, identify
common elements among the cases and
then establish a clearer understanding and description of
the illness.
Following the online survey, pathologists will conduct
further research on the survey data with the goal of
developing a verified list of animals affected by this
recall, and the common symptoms and aspects of the illness.
From the data generated, they hope to establish valid
estimates of the number of animals affected, their ages,
breeds and species along with related data.
Non-members of AAVLD can enter case data via the public area
by clicking on "News" at <http://www.aavld.org/mc/page.do>
and then on the "AAVLD Pet Food Toxicity Survey" link.
At an April 12 Senate hearing on the pet food recall,
Senator Durbin focused his attention on the structure of the
national food safety system, in which jurisdiction for human
and animal foods is divided
among multiple government bodies. One interesting point that
was brought out is that the FDA does not have authority to
issue a mandatory recall of tainted pet food. They rely on
other measures such as seizure of product.
Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA Center for
Veterinary
Medicine, said that "the FDA bases the level of inspection
[of U.S. pet food manufacturers] on the risks from products,
partly because of limitations on resources, and pet food
traditionally has been very
safe." Dr. Sundlof testified that in the case of the
imported pet food tainted by melamine, records indicate that
the Chinese company did not test for melamine, which the FDA
normally would not consider a
potential pet food contaminant.
Eric Nelson, AAFCO president, testified that the current
system for feed safety concentrates on post-production
controls such as labeling rather than process controls. One
goal of AAFCO is to support industry self-regulation through
quality assurance programs, but Nelson admitted these
efforts have not gone far enough to accomplish safe animal
food.
Now AAFCO is developing model process-control regulations
for adoption and enforcement by states and the FDA as well
is working on modernizing the agency's Animal Feed Safety
System to incorporate more preventive measures.
Dr. Claudia Kirk, a nutritionist with the University of
Tennessee
College of Veterinary Medicine, stated her opinion that
additional FDA inspections could improve the adherence to
quality control and good manufacturing practices. She said,
"If it were mandatory for manufacturers to immediately
report significant adverse events to a centralized
regulatory agency, earlier investigative action and product
withdrawal could occur. However, establishing reasonable
criteria
for when to alert regulators is difficult." She added that
the recall might have moved more quickly with better
surveillance.
Duane Ekedahl, executive director of the Pet Food Institute,
announced the formation of the National Pet Food Commission,
which will investigate the recall and recommend steps that
industry and government should take to build on existing
safety and quality
standards.
In Defense of Animals (IDA) believes that a federal agency
to protect animal companions should be established. For
example, this department of government would be similar to
the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) which protects the human
population when outbreaks of food borne illness occur.
According to IDA, just as Hurricane Katrina prompted the
government to pass the Pets Evacuation and Transportation
Standards (PETS) Act, the Menu Foods recall may provide the
impetus needed to form a CDC
for cats and dogs. IDA is asking activists to contact AVMA
and urge their strong support for federal action for pet
food safety.
Contact information and a sample letter follows:
AVMA
1931 North Meacham Road, Suite 100
Schaumburg, IL 60173
Tel: (847) 925-8070
Fax: (847) 925-1329
E-mail: avmainfo@avma.org
As an animal lover and pet owner, I am deeply concerned
about the
recent pet food recall that has affected thousands of pets
and people across the nation. I appreciate so much the
AVMA's efforts to collect data so we have the best
information on the effects of the contaminated food and the
number of animals that have suffered
illness or death.
The recall, which involves the contamination of some of the
most
popular brands of pet food and pet treats in the country,
underscores the need for more oversight of the pet food
industry. The recent April 12 Senate hearing on the recall
noted many weaknesses in the
process. Clearly more money and staff are needed to conduct
inspections; the self-regulating nature of the industry, at
home and abroad, should be examined; and stronger laws to
ensure that companies immediately notify pet owners and
regulators of any food
contamination should be enacted.
Please lobby federal legislators to support a review of food
safety for pets along with food safety programs for people.
Use the AVMA's influence to advocate for legislation such as
Senator Dick Durbin
and Rep. Rosa DeLauro plan to offer that would require FDA
to develop national inspection standards for pet food-making
facilities, rather than relying on states. The proposed
measure would also strengthen penalties that FDA could
impose on pet food makers who delay
reporting safety problems, an accusation critics have
leveled against Menu Foods. Another issue raised by In
Defense of Animals is whether the federal government should
form an equivalent to the Centers for Disease Control for
cats and dogs so that future food-borne illness
outbreaks among animal companions can be more closely
tracked and more quickly contained.
I urge you to initiate and support needed changes in pet
food
regulation and health safety that will help ensure a safe
food supply for our nation's pets, both now and in the
future. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
###
-----
If you believe your animal companion has eaten contaminated
food,
contact one of the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinators in
your area
<http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html>
to report the illness for tracking purposes.
If your animal companion has suffered or died as a result of
eating the brands that are now being recalled, you may
qualify to be part of a possible class action lawsuit:
<https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/submit_form.html?label=menu-foods>
---
2. Public service announcement about Vivisection
(experimenting on live animals):
Most people have little knowledge about vivisection, which
is experiments performed on live animals, including dogs,
monkeys, mice, pigs and many other animals. The animals are
subjected to physical, mental and emotional suffering. Yet
as has been made clear with problems arising with several
pharmaceuticals, "passing" animal testing trials doesn't
ensure safety for humans.
Between April 22 and 28, a anti-vivisection public service
announcement featuring respected primatologist Jane Goodall
will play during World Week for Animals in Laboratories
(WWAIL) on MTV, VH1 and Animal Planet. View the ad at <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNtXB4crLw4>.
Dr. Goodall has spoken out against the use of primates in
experiments. In the ad she refers to vivisection as "a black
mark against humanity." She has spent decades studying
chimpanzees in the wild, and her findings have changed our
understanding of this highly intelligent species, humanity's
closest relative in the animal kingdom. To read more about
anti-vivisection efforts and a recap of 2006 efforts for
animals in laboratories, go to
<http://wwail.org/recap2006.html>.
The Tuesday, April 17, New York Times Science section
featured "Almost Human, and Sometimes Smarter." an article
by John Noble Wilford about the intelligence of chimps. For
example, chimps have outperformed humans in certain memory
tasks.
"Tetsuro Matsuzawa, a Kyoto primatologist, described a young
chimp watching as numbers 1 through 9 flashed on the
computer screen at random positions. Then the numbers
disappeared in no more than a second. White squares remained
where the numbers had been. The chimp casually but swiftly
pressed the squares, calling back the numbers in ascending
order -- 1, 2, 3, etc.
"The test was repeated several times, with the numbers and
squares in different places. The chimp, which had months of
training accompanied by promised food rewards, almost never
failed to remember where the numbers had been. The video
included scenes of a human failing the test, seldom
recalling more than one or two numbers, if any."
The article also discusses animals engaging in mirror
recognition, mourning, and caring for others, topics given
space in the section in recent weeks. The newest article is
on line at
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/17/science/17chimp.html>.
If you'd like to write a letter to the editor on an animal
treatment topic, the New York Times email is
letters@nytimes.com
----
For free, detailed Dog Tips on canine behavior, health,
training, management and other issues -- plus some tipsheets
relevant for folks with cats and other species -- go the
Robin's Dog Tips index at
http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/dog_tips.php To be added
or removed from the Dog Tips email list,
contact
Tierneydog@yahoo.com Robin
Editor, Robin's Dog Tips
Writer, weekly Pets feature in regional newspapers
FOR NONPROFIT USE ONLY. These
articles may NOT be reproduced or circulated without author
permission. |
