Please tell everyone you know who has/cares about animals!

(From the UK Sunday Mirror)

42 pups mutilated, 28 kittens given lethal injections and 15 beagles put to death so .. you can buy PET FOOD

HORROR BEHIND HUGE INDUSTRY

DOZENS of puppies and kittens have been mutilated and killed in research commissioned by some of the world's leading pet food firms. The animals were subjected to a range of horrific experiments by US scientists developing products for Britain's 1.8billion-a-year industry.

One of the most alarming tests was commissioned by Hill's Pet Nutrition, which produces Hill's Scientific Diet and Prescription Diet. It involved feeding 42 puppies a special diet during a five-week trial. At the end of the experiment the dogs - average age nine weeks - had claws, teeth and testes removed for zinc analysis. It's believed the dogs then died or were put down.

In another experiment, commissioned by the US IAMS company which makes the popular pet food range, 28 female kittens were deliberately made to suffer kidney failure and then each had a kidney removed. Two of the cats died as a result of the surgery, and the others suffered weight loss and severe vomiting before being killed by lethal injection.

A third experiment, again for IAMS, involved 15 beagles which had their bowels cut out for analysis. The dogs were then killed by lethal injection.

Sarah Kite, of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, said: "These companies claim to care about animals but behind the scenes they are involved in nasty experiments.

"Pet owners will be horrified to find the same people who claim to care are carrying out invasive and painful tests on animals. The findings show the hypocrisy of the pet food trade.

"There is no need for these kinds of tests. Animals are used because they can be used. But plenty of companies do not test at all on animals."

Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker said: "People will be horrified by companies taking action which is cruel, heartless and contrary to the image they present in public.

"Many of these tests appear unnecessary and nothing to do with the product they are producing."

Britain has 6.4million dogs eating 785,000 tonnes of pet food annually, with 8million cats eating 503,000 tonnes.

- The worldwide industry is worth 20billion a year.

- The UK's share of the market, with firms like IAMS, is nearly 2billion a year.

- US-based Hill's Pet Nutrition credits itself as the pioneer of "scientific" pet food.