Actions taken by Australian pet food consumers have resulted in a government investigation into the pet food industry. A win for pet food consumers of Australia.
For the first time in Australian history, the government is taking a close look into the regulation (or lack thereof) of pet food. Currently, the government has no authority to recall a dangerous pet food – consumers have no regulatory authority to report sick pets to (believed to be caused by a pet food). ABC.net.au states: “Currently the industry enjoys a regime of self-regulation and recalls are almost unheard of.”
“There are no laws governing pet food manufacturing in Australia, only a voluntary standard.”
Australian “Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff proposed the parliamentary inquiry and said it would examine the feasibility of formal oversight, mandatory recalls and pet food labelling.” Further, the change in regulation of pet food in Australia is welcoming consumer input; the AU government is giving consumers a voice.
This change has not come easy. More than 100 dogs were sickened by a rare disease (megaesophagus) linked to a pet food manufactured by Mars Petcare. Reports of hundreds of dog deaths linked to a Australian store brand (private label) and in recent months multiple brands of pet food were found to contain pieces of plastic and metal. Consumers in Australia have protested, written letters, and contacted local media with their reports of sick/dead pets. Finally, the government is listening to their pleas.
Click Here to view the Australian government website regarding the proposed pet food regulatory changes (with information on how AU consumers can provide input).
FYI: Canadian pet food consumers are basically in the same position as Australian pet food consumers (prior to this government investigation). Consumers in Canada have no regulatory authority to report a sick pet to (linked to a pet food), and the government has no authority to recall a dangerous pet food.
In the US, pet food is a regulated product – but authorities openly ignore many of those regulations. Consumers have the ability to report sick or dead pets (linked to a pet food) to state and federal authorities, but there is no rhyme or reason when or if a manufacturer will be investigated (it is solely at the discretion of the authority).
Just maybe, Australia will become the first country to properly regulate pet food. Perhaps they will be the first country to officially give consumers a voice (and a vote) in the regulatory process. The world is watching and hoping for the best for our fellow consumers.
Wishing you and your pet(s) the best,
Susan Thixton
Pet Food Safety Advocate
Author Buyer Beware, Co-Author Dinner PAWsible
TruthaboutPetFood.com
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Loui
June 26, 2018 at 2:19 am
Thank You Susan for this vital information. I am from Australia and am extremely concerned about our pets rights regarding commercial pet feed. It is also to be noted that our supermarkets giants and no so giants import the commercial pet feed from USA and is most worrying to see the label says so. The no-frills supermarket chains are of sickening concern to me. The feeds I have seen are labeled with a big fancy logo saying proudly made in USA from USA approved products OMG!!!! Years ago I found my cat left something on her plate which I noticed to be a huge piece of melted metal I was furious and demanded investigation but as soon as I gave them the metal I never heard of them again. They tried to compensate it with a $10 cheque which I denied and left me several tins of the same brand of cat food. AGAIN I found problems dead maggots in the tins. I tossed them all out and refused to play russian roulette with my cat. Instead I started feeding her human-grade mince, chicken wings and baked veggies. My beautiful Silver Point Persian Tina to this day (20 yrs later) it still angered me that the pet feed industry plays ‘risky business’ with our pets. My girl has since passed but hurt me deeply that it could have been worse. I would imagine too that the RAW Pet Feed such as toxic kangaroo meat which is profoundly pumped into all pet feed here is banned. The dangerous sulphites added and the meat is not only unethical being the largest wild animal slaughter on the planet next to Canadian seal clubbing and whaling pet consumers blindly believe the bureaucratic rubbish that its actually good and healthy for pets -well it is one of the worst meat you could ever feed your pets on numerous levels it is also banned in UN because of the dangers involved with consuming this meat. Ever wonder why the kangaroo meat turns black sitting in the supermarket shelves? when you seek the answers you will find yourself avoiding it like the plague.
Kelley
June 28, 2018 at 10:27 pm
Ummm WERUVA????? Did we forget about that one? That was huge and people just brushed that under the rug like it never happened. Not ok. Have family in Australia they haven’t forgotten or maybe people only care about dogs and not cats?