Caged ‘Dog’ Launches International Protest Against Iams’ Animal Tests

 

For Immediate Release:
15 September 2003

Contact:
Sean Gifford 020 7357 9229, ext 226

London – Wearing a beagle costume and crammed into a cage to illustrate the misery of animals neglected and killed in Iams ‘nutritional’ tests, a PETA member will protest the cat- and dog-food company Iams, while other activists hold signs reading, ‘Boycott Iams – Stop Cruel Animal Tests. Buy Only Home-Tested Dog and Cat Food, Not Lab-Tested’, and show shocking video footage of dogs’ suffering in Iams-funded laboratories. The protest – which is the kick-off action for an international campaign – comes after years of failed negotiations with Iams



Date: Tuesday, 15 September
Time: 12 noon
Place: Tesco Metro, Bishopsgate, opposite Liverpool Street Station, London


A recent PETA undercover investigation revealed deplorable conditions at an Iams contract laboratory. At least 27 dogs were destroyed, while others died of illnesses that went untreated despite assurances from Iams that no animal in any Iams test would ever be deliberately killed. PETA’s investigator also found the following:



  • Dogs and cats confined to small, barren cages, some for up to six years

  • Dogs’ vocal chords surgically cut out so that they couldn’t bark

  • Dogs with untreated ear infections, rotten teeth and injured paws from having to balance on metal-slatted cages and lie on cold cement

  • Workers’ reports of a live kitten who was washed down a drain

  • Terrified, unsocialized animals cowering in their cages

  • Extreme heat and humidity in kennels during summer months and near-freezing temperatures in winter

Dogs who were force-fed vegetable oil through tubes inserted down their throats


In June, PETA filed a formal complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission against Iams and its parent company, Procter & Gamble, for making allegedly false claims on their Web sites regarding the care provided to the cats and dogs the company uses in its research.

‘Iams is causing misery and death for dogs and cats while feeding its customers a line of fiction’, says Sean Gifford, PETA’s director of European campaigns. ‘PETA believes that no dogs and cats should suffer for Iams’ profits.’

Broadcast-quality footage of animals in an Iams contract laboratory is available. For more information, please visit PETA’s Web site IamsCruelty.com.