Iams Tests on Pets

Protesters served as a voice for the debarked voiceless on Friday, October 15, in a lunch-hour protest against Iams. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) members and local activists educated the public about the cruelty of Iams’ unnecessary “nutritional” tests on dogs and cats.

Iams uses dogs and cats in unnecessary animal experiments for its pet food products, often violating its own welfare policy with utter disregard for the test victims. Iams researchers have snipped dogs’ vocal chords, shoved tubes down their throats to force them to ingest vegetable oil, and removed dogs’ thigh muscles only to leave them on cold concrete floors in buildings without temperature control. Study after study has also found Iams contractors killing dogs, despite Iams’ own policies against killing test animals.

Many pedestrians in Market Square were horrified to learn about Iams’ abuse of dogs and cats and vowed to stop purchasing the company’s pet food.

“I bought it for a while and I was clueless,” said Sarah Snoke, who drove from Youngstown, Ohio, to participate in the protest. “Just the fact that they cut dogs’ vocal chords is disgusting. It’s not necessary.”

In the face of pressure, Iams has taken small but inadequate measures. There is no moral difference between testing on a mouse or a dog. Nevertheless, Iams recently donated about $200,000 to Purdue University to study muscle atrophy in mice, which is created by suspending the animals by their tails for weeks or months at a time. Purdue is also conducting kidney-failure experiments on dogs for Iams.

“The dogs and cats in Iams’ tests are no different from our dogs and cats at home when it comes to deserving companionship, play, a stimulating environment, and the right not to be tormented in painful experiments,” said PETA member Michael Croland.

Iams announced last week that they would stop funding university and private contract laboratories, and plans to increase the size of its Dayton, Ohio, facility instead. PETA is calling for Iams to eliminate all pet food tests rather than just change their location. More information about PETA’s campaign can be found at http://www.IamsCruelty.com.

- Michael Croland, Pittsburgh Indymedia www.indypgh.org

About a dozen protesters demonstrated
against Iams in Market Square. (Photo by
Michael Croland, Pittsburgh Indymedia)