Re:Vegetarian diet for dogs?

[Guest guest]

My brother has fed his dogs pressure cooked lentils with rice and veggies

for years and the vet always admired how healthy they were. Dogs have no

problem with vegan diets ­ but be sure to give them some protein ­ whole

rice, lentils, soya chunks ­ whatever. They always had the glossiest fur

around after they went veg. And one of them, like yours likes fruits, raw

vegetables ­ anything.

Nandita

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

The question remains, is a dog¹s life more worthy than a chicken¹s or a

cow¹s? Do we have the right to kill a chicken to save a dog? I have no

problems with carnivores that kill their own prey, but are WE right in

saving dogs by killing other animals? In nature, when a lion kills a zebra,

its actually supporting the survival of the species because it eliminates

the weakest. But humans weaken and sicken animals that are raised for food.

These are all issues that need to be considered.

Nandita

SHARAN

 

 

I agree with Merritt Clifton completely. Dogs are confirmed carnivores and

it is cruelty to feed them a vegetarian diet. My dog feeds on non vegetarian

food daily. I don't think humans should impose their moral values on

creatures who do not share them. Could anyone in their right senses, think

about vegetarian tigers and wolves? I do know there are vegetarian and vegan

dog and cat feed available in the market but I am not convinced of their

utility and efficiency. It might interest you to read this small extract

from a book written by Desmond Morris. I am in complete agreement with him :

*Recent attempts by well meaning vegetarians to convert their cats to a

meat free diet are both misguided and cruel. Cats rapidly become seriously

ill on a vegetarian diet and cannot survive it for long. The recent

publication of vegetarian diets recommended as suitable for cats is a clear

case of animal abuse and should be dealt with as such. *

**

*CATWATCHING BY DESMOND MORRIS, Ebury Press, Page 58*

*Desmond Morris is a zoologist and has a D.Phil. from Oxford University. He

was already the author of some fifty scientific papers and seven books

before completing The Naked Ape in 1967, which has sold over 10 million

copies worldwide. He is now one of the best-known natural history

presenters. *

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

>The question remains, is a dog's life more worthy than a chicken's or a

>cow's? Do we have the right to kill a chicken to save a dog?

 

 

This question is irrelevant, since neither chickens nor cows

are raised and killed to make either commercial dog food, or the

refuse in dumps and gutters that have fed street dogs since the dawn

of civilization.

 

The difference between commercial dog food and the refuse in

dumps and gutters is that about 120 years ago some butchers in

England learned to make a lucrative side business from processing

their meat scraps into dog food that could be sold, not just be

discarded.

 

About 100 years ago, large commercial slaughterhouses got

into the business. Mixing meat scraps with grain gluten turned out

to be the key to making dog food that could be stored, transported,

and sold in grocery stores. Canned dog food began to reach the U.S.

market in the 1920s, and bagged kibble was first produced for kennel

use in the 1930s, but was not introduced to grocery stores until

1959.

 

Eventually, producing pet food came to be one of the largest

branches of the rendering industry, which processes the remains from

dead animals that are considered unfit for human consumption -- but

even so, the pet food industry still only consumes a small

percentage of the total waste from the slaughter industry.

Fertilizer production consumes far more. The pet food industry could

grow in size many times over before it would exhaust the supply of

scraps from slaughter for human consumption.

 

Some animals are killed specifically to become pet food,

including non-ambulatory cattle and " spent " laying hens, but these

animals would be killed anyhow, and were not raised to be

slaughtered for this purpose.

 

Most non-ambulatory cattle are former milk cows whose

hindquarters broke down under the stress of bearing calves repeatedly

and supporting udders of artificially increased size and weight.

This is not something that the farmers want to happen, since the

price paid for a non-ambulatory cow carcass sold for pet food is just

a fraction of the price of an ambulatory cow sold for beef. Dairy

farmers try to cull and sell their cows for slaughter before they

break down and become non-ambulatory -- but if they keep a cow too

long, only the pet food industry will take her.

 

" Spent " laying hens are simply part of the refuse of

commercial egg production. Most are macerated into fertilizer. Pet

food is an alternate destination of some of them.

 

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

[ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing

original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide,

founded in 1992. Our readership of 30,000-plus includes the

decision-makers at more than 10,000 animal protection organizations.

We have no alignment or affiliation with any other entity. $24/year;

for free sample, send address.]

[Guest guest]

Dogs ARE omnivores - that means that they need both vegetables AND meat to

maintain full health. Dog guardians who are not prepared to feed them meat

should seriously consider whether they should be keeping a dog at all. Our own

religious/cultural/ethnic beliefs should have no influence on how we treat the

animals that we take responsibility for. Their best interests must come first.

 

Please note however that cats, unlike dogs, are carnivores - they DO need a diet

consisting purely of meat and fish. Failure to provide this leads to blindness

and organ failure.

 

ITD