NEWS: Who is Trying to Kill Your Pets?

CULTURE: Who is Trying to Kill Your Pets?

By now, you've all probably heard about the massive pet-food recall that's been going on for the last month. If not, I'll catch you up. It all started in March, when Menu Foods, a manufacturer for most of the top-20 announced that it would be recalling 60 million containers of its "wet" pet food. At that time it was believed that there were ten pets that had been killed, with many others suffering from kidney failure.

As time passed, however, it seemed that the problem was even bigger. As more brands were recalled, pet owners began asking more questions. Investigators began to point the finger at the company's wheat gluten supplier, a Chinese company called Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Company (another win for outsourcing). At first, reports centered around the chemical aminopterin, a banned rat poison. Then, another chemical, melaminewas found in the tainted food as well as in sickened animals' kidneys.



Yesterday, as the recall expanded to cover dog biscuits, the Chinese government basically said, "what wheat gluten? We don't know what you're talking about!"

One of the scariest theories is that perhaps the addition of melamine isn't so accidental. In order to increase the protein in the gluten, and therefore its price, the chemical could have been added on purpose.

Of course, since the recall, the FDA has said that it will begin testing all gluten now shipped from China. Unfortunately for what may be thousands of animals, it is already too little, too late.

so fucking sad =(

i'm really starting to regret taking up that bet now...

That's really messed up.

Some heartless bastard.

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

I'll kill every American, even those on 4 legs.

It REALLY makes me wonder how easy it would be to get into the human food supply too.

That's so freaky. I'm glad I don't feed my kitty any of the potentially dangerous foods. I hope there is no more news of contaminated foods. This scares the shyste outta me!

Im a dog groomer at petsmart, and this whole thing caused quite a riot. Alot of animals have actually died from this, many of our customers have lost their pets.

The "Red" Chinese think keeping dogs and cats as pets, instead of eating them, is bourgeois decadence. I suspect their government is simply stonewalling, and that may one reason why. Tthey also have a problem with needing to appear infallible...

Another problem that has come to light is Vitamin D poisoning. They add Vitamin D to dry pet food and the amounts are not regulated. D is a fat soluble vitamin, so if the animal is not getting a balanced amount of fat in their diet, they exhibit the EXACT SAME symptoms with lethargy and liver failure. Lack of sunlight is what leads to Vitamin D deficiency, so if you get plenty of sun you don't even need a supplement.

PETA is asking the FDA to investigate the levels of Vitamin D in dry pet foods right now as they may be at possibly toxic levels. Especially in DIET pet foods where little or no fat is contained. No fat + Vitamin D = build up in the liver and toxicity. Check it out.

When I first heard of the recall I was happy to find out that the food I buy my animals wasn't tainted. But then like a week ago Purina fucking comes out with a voluntary recall on some of its food. Now I'm afraid to give my pets any manufactured food in the fear that in another week I'll find out that its killing them!!!!

it really pisses me off that some of the brands are "high end" expensive cat foods, and others are shit that I wouldn't feed to feral strays... yet they are all made by the same company, and probably the same recipe. if people buy from any of those brands again, they are idiots.

terrorists... plain and simple.

i'm a vet tech and you can't imagine how enraged i was to find out that two of the diets i recommend were recalled. ONE OF WHICH IS A PRESCRIPTION DIET, that goes through extensive testing.

this is ridiculous.

Isn't that sweet? At least a few people got to make more money than they'd ever possibly be able to spend off of this...