A study conducted by the
Food and Drug Administration on the
presence of pentobarbital in pet foods.
For those who aren't aware,
pentobarbital is the chemical of choice
that vets and animal shelters use to put
animals to sleep.
The study by the FDA
concluded that pentobarbital is indeed
capable of surviving the rendering process
and thus ending up in foods that contain
euthanized pets.
What that means is, do
these pet food manufacturers really use
euthanized pets and animals in their
foods?
Well not all answers are
clear cut, and some brands have used them,
but not necessarily in every product they
carry.
According to a study
conducted in March 1998 and December 2000,
by the Food And Drug Administration Center
for Veterinary Medicine,
Here are the brands that
tested positive for pentobarbital residue:
(please note not all brands
of pet foods were tested)
|
Nutro |
Heinz |
Richfood |
|
Trailblazer
|
Champ Chunx |
Pet Essentials |
|
Ol'Roy |
Reward |
America's Choice |
|
Dad's |
PetGold
|
Kibble Select |
|
Weis Value |
Ken-L-Ration |
ProPlan |
| |
|
Super G |
Again, not all brands of
foods were tested, and not all products in
the lines of each manufacturer contained
residue. The study also went on to say
that pentobarbital residue is capable of
surviving the rendering process.
They determined that dogs
and cats are not in dog food, but sodium
pentobarbital the drug used to euthanize
them is......
Their study says that the
most likely way that pentobarbital can get
in dog food is via rendered animals that
were euthanized.
So how did the drug get
there if euthanized dogs and cats aren't
being used in pet food?
They suggest that the drug
came via euthanized cows and horses and
zoo animals.
Farmers don't euthanize
sick cows. It costs about $75 to $100 for
a vet to come out and euthanize a cow. A
bullet costs 25 cents. Horse are
euthanized on occasion, but this is mainly
reserved for horse that are pets or race
horses, and then they are in most
instances given proper burial. Zoo animals
are euthanized, but the incidences of this
are very small.
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