Euthanized pets for use IN PET FOOD? - it's true.

IS THERE CAT AND DOG IN PET FOOD?

Reporter John Eckhouse was one of the first people to discover the practice of sending euthanized pets to the rendering plants.He quoted an employee of Sacramento Rendering as saying, "Thousands and thousands of pounds of dogs and cats are picked up and brought here every day."When a vet tells a grieving owner that they'll "take care" of their dead loved one, they usually mean sending it off with the disposal company for rendering. This is all perfectly legal. Many veterinarians and especially shelters don't have the money to bury or cremate animals.Although many in the pet food industry deny that they use euthanized animals, proof that the practice goes on continues to surface.

Also - Do you know what is in 'meat meal' - the major constituent of dry dog and cat food? FUR, often collars are not removed, Urine, fecal matter, hair, pus, meat (from animals, afflicted) with cancer and T.B., etc."

We see pictures of whole grains, prime cuts of meat and human grade vegetables on the bag, and we assume there's some chef in a pet food kitchen cooking up the best for our loved ones. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. Most of what makes up dog and cat food comes from the rendering plant.

To render, as defined in Webster's Dictionary, is "to process as for industrial use: to render livestock carcasses and to extract oil from fat, blubber, etc., by melting."When chickens, lambs, cattle, swine, and other animals are slaughtered for food, usually only the lean muscle is cut off for human consumption.This leaves about 50 percent of a carcass left over. These leftovers are what become what we so commonly find on pet food labels, such as "meat-and-bone-meal" or "by-products.

"So basically, what pets eat are lungs, ligaments, bones, blood and intestines.Some other things that go into rendering to make your Cat and Dog Food are:

* Euthanized companion animals Cats and Dogs, fur, bones, chemicals from death proccess, even collars are often left on the animals.

* Spoiled meat from the supermarket, Styrofoam wrapping and all

* Road kill that can't be buried on the roadside

* The "4 D's" of cattle: dead, dying, disease and disabled

* Rancid restaurant grease

When dead animals from cow pastures are picked up, they may not be rendered until up to a week after they are dead. Because of this, it is estimated that E. coli bacteria contaminate more than 50 percent of meat meals.

The rendering process destroys the bacteria, but it does not eliminate the endotoxins bacteria release when they die.

These endotoxin, which can cause sickness and disease, are not tested for by pet food manufacturers.When all this comes to the rendering plant, it's put in a huge vat and shredded.Then it's cooked at 220 to 270 degrees for 20 to 60 minutes. After it cools, the grease is skimmed off the top.

This is "animal fat." The rest is pressed and dried. This is "meat and bone meal."Dogs wouldn't eat this stuff in the wild, so why will they eat it out of their bowls? Their noses are tricked by the smell of it. The smell of animal fats for dogs and fish oil for cats is sprayed on the dry, bland kibble bits to make them appetizing.

These flavors usually come from rendered restaurant grease, animal fat, or other oils unfit for human consumption. Huge conglomerates use pet food companies as a cheap, and even profitable, way of disposing of the waste from their human food companies. Three of the five major pet food companies are owned by these huge corporations.