A Very Disturbing Investigation Of The Iams Pet Food Company.

My own words:

Back in 2002 and 2003, PETA went undercover into a contract laboratory employed by the pet food manufacturer Iams. What they found was sickening. For the nearly 10 months the investigator had to endure this to get the footage needed to expose this, the investigator found dogs who had literally gone crazy from intense confinement in barren, steel cages and cement cells. They were left there to see the result of solitary confinement on a dog.

Another sick thing they found were dogs who had been left on a filthy floor after chunks of muscle had been hacked from their thighs, and the ever so "popular" debarked dogs. And, then there were the horribly sick dogs and cats who were just laying in cages, neglected and dying slowly and painfully, alone. They were given no veterinary care at all.

source: www.iamscruelty.com

Even Iams own Executive criticizes the Company's Cruel Caging Policy. Her name is Diane Hirakawa, Sr. Vice Pres. of Iams Research and Development.

Here is the list of violations documented by government inspectors.

Failure to provide pain relief to sheep used in experiments that cause pain/distress.
Failure to ensure that personnel were trained to perform experiments on animals.
Failure to provide veterinary care and to observe animals daily.
Failure to properly ventilate housing facilities for dogs and cats.
Failure to house cats with adequate number of litter boxes and resting surfaces.
Failure to keep animal-housing facilities clean and in good order/resulting in injuries.
Failure to maintain comfortable temperatures in animal-housing facilities.
Failure to provide animals with sufficient space.

If you feed this food, you might want to go to the website I listed above and read about what you are feeding your dog and what the dogs have to go through in order for you to feed it. I feed BilJac.

The HSUS And The AVAR Launch The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Assoc.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights (AVAR) announced on Jan. 14, 2008 that their respective boards of directors have approved a corporate combination agreement which will result in a powerful new veterinary advocacy organization, the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association (HSVMA). The HSVMA will give veterinarians, veterinary students and veterinary technicians an opportunity to participate in animal welfare programs, including disaster response; expanded hands-on animal care; spaying and neutering; and advocacy for legislative, corporate and veterinary medical school reforms."Veterinarians bring a special credibility and authority on animal issues, and I am delighted to add this exciting new operation to The Humane Society of the United States' family of organizations," said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and CEO. "For 27 years, AVAR has been an important and principled veterinary voice in animal advocacy. Now we will be able to amplify that voice and expand our veterinary-related programs dramatically."


In 2007, RAVS delivered more than 30,000 treatments to animals. More than 700 veterinary students a year participate in RAVS program, providing veterinary students with invaluable clinical experience with animals in need. The HSUS also has major collaborative programs with the veterinary schools at Louisiana State University and Mississippi State University. AVAR, founded in 1981, has 3,500 affiliated veterinarians.


The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association will be a voice for the vast majority of veterinarians not in the employ of industries that do harm to animals."HSMVA will continue the veterinary work of The HSUS and AVAR, and will explore new programs such as offering benefits for veterinary practitioners and starting student chapters at veterinary medical colleges in the United States. The combination took effect on February 1, 2008.

Universities That Do And Don't Use Class B Dealers And Universities That Would Not Say Either Way.

The following universities said YES—they do purchase random-source dogs and/or cats from Class B Dealers:
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina (dogs only)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee

These universities did not disclose whether they purchase random-source dogs and cats from Class B dealers, despite an HSUS follow-up:
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
Columbia University, New York, New York
Harvard Medical Area, Boston, Massachusetts
Indiana University School of Medicine-Indianapolis, Indiana
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York
Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Aurora, Colorado
University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
University of Texas Health Sciences Center-San Antonio, Texas
Wake Forest University, Winston, Salem, North Carolina

According to The HSUS 2007 survey, these universities said they do NOT purchase
random source dogs and cats from Class B dealers:
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Bronx, New York
Boston University Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
Leland Stanford Junior University, Stanford, California
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts
New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York
Oregon Health & Sciences University, Portland, Oregon
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
University of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama
University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson, Arizona
University of California, Berkeley, California
University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
University of Maryland-Baltimore School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
University of Miami, Miami, Florida
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
University of California, Davis, California
University of California, Los Angeles, California
University of California, San Diego, California
University of California, San Francisco, California
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
University of Texas-Southwestern Med. Center, Dallas, Texas
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

What Is A Class B Dealer?

Class B dealers are licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to buy animals from "random sources"(meaning animals not bred or raised on the dealers' property) and sell them to animal research facilities for biomedical research, testing, and educational purposes. Such random sources for dogs and cats include auctions, flea markets, or animal shelters. Class B dealers also buy animals from "bunchers," another group of people who collect animals from random sources. Unlike dealers, bunchers are not regulated, which creates additional problems with enforcement. Class B dealers and bunchers have been known to acquire lost, stray, and "free to a good home," dogs and cats, and even pets from their owners' backyards. In addition to concerns about the sources of animals that enter the Class B dealer network, there are also questions about the treatment of the animals while they are being held at dealer facilities awaiting sale for research. Numerous documented cases of mistreatment and neglect, as well as animal welfare violations, have occurred at Class B facilities. However, many dealers with Animal Welfare Act violations have not lost their licenses or faced serious sanction. By its own admission, the USDA lacks the necessary resources to track the interstate activities of Class B dealers. As of 2006, only 15 Class B dealers sell dogs and cats to research institutions in the United States. The Humane Society of the United States would like to see the elimination of Class B Dealers altogether. This would not end the use of dogs and cats in research, but would at least ensure that animals slated for research would not suffer ill-treatment in the Class B dealer pipeline. The HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) went undercover to a class B dealer called Martin Creek Kennels, and exposed the horrors that these dogs were put through. HBO showed it and it is called "Dealing Dogs." I watched this with tears streaming down my face, and finally, I actually became sick to my stomach, and threw up. The undercover investigator, "Brian", had to watch this day in and day out. But, by doing what he does, he uncovered the horrors and the kennel was finally shut down. So, when you see dogs at a flea market, step up and tell the people with the puppies that they are wrong. I have done so on many occasions at the Milton Flea Market. Although it is not illegal to sell dogs at a flea market, the people selling them are not reputable breeders. They just want to make a dollar.
Support "Buck's Bill" (the Pet Safety and Protection Act). There are 15 Class B dealers left who round up dogs and cats from various "random sources" and sell them to research facilities. The Humane Society of the United States firmly believes that it is time to stop funneling dogs and cats—often times stolen family pets—into research facilities. The Pet Safety and Protection Act, otherwise know as, "Buck's Bill," will prohibit the sale of "random source" (Random source animals are those dogs and cats that are either obtained from auction sales or from any person who did not breed and raise the dogs and cats) dogs and cats for experimentation, preventing the theft of pets for research and the abusive treatment of these animals in the hands of Class B dealers. The House and Senate both recently accepted amendments to their respective Farm Bills to prevent stolen pets from being sold into research. While this is a great step forward, we need to make sure this legislation becomes law. "Buck's Bill" is named in honor of Buck, a black hound dog seized in 2003 in Oklahoma from a Class B dealer. Buck, who had heartworm disease and other ailments, died months after his rescue, while in foster care. TAKE ACTION!
Make a brief polite phone call to your two U.S. Senators and Representative and ask them to co-sponsor S. 714/H.R. 1280, the Pet Safety and Protection Act. You can reach your federal legislators through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Here is all the info on both Senators and Representative Rahall:
Capitol Address: Rep. Nick RahallU.S. House of Representatives
2307 Rayburn House Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 205150001
Ph: (202) 225-3452
District Address:301 Prince Street
Beckley, WV 258014515
Ph: (304) 252-5000
Capitol Address: Senator John (Jay) Rockefeller
U.S. Senate
531 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 205100001
Ph: (202) 224-6472
District Address:Martinsburg Federal Building
217 West King Street, Suite 307
Martinsburg, WV 254013286
Ph: (304) 262-9285
Capitol Address: Senator Robert Byrd
U.S. Senate
311 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 205100001
Ph: (202) 224-3954
District Address:300 Virginia Street East
Suite 2630
Charleston, WV 253012503
Ph: (304) 342-5855