RMB Newsletter Vol 8:2 Pet-food scourge
Dear Reader,
How’s your year going? Hope things progress well.
Here in Sydney, Australia the days are sunny and good for working; with
nights that are cold and good for sleeping. Already it’s mid year and
time for the second RMB Newsletter of 2008.
In this Newsletter I’d like to welcome new subscribers and thank
subscribers who have provided support since publication of the first RMB
Newsletter in 2001
http://secureshop.rawmeatybones.com/newsletter/browse.epl.
Did you check out George Bernard Shaw’s 1906 preface to the Doctor’s
Dilemma mentioned in the last Newsletter? Please take a look at:
http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/32/6/910
The old genius was definitely onto something when he said that ‘All
professions are conspiracies against the laity.’
Loosely speaking, we’re all members of professions or clubs of one sort
or another. So in reality, Shaw was speaking about the human condition:
That when we form into groups we tend to place our perceived group
interests above those of the wider community.
Groucho Marks put group behaviour in context when he quipped: ‘I refuse
to join any club that would have me as a member.’
As both hunters and hunted, cunning and devious, humans have a long
history of putting the interests of their group/club/profession ahead of
the interests of the wider community. We’re genetically programmed to
overlook the shortcomings of ourselves and our peers as we push our luck
promoting our group interests.
We can generalise that many, perhaps most, vets conspire against their
clients and injure the health of their carnivore patients. Figuratively,
if not literally, the vet profession gets away with murder. Why is this
so and what’s to be done about it?
To my way of thinking, it’s to do with the honest vets being too timid to
speak up and pet owners being too accepting of the mass poisoning of
pets. Dogs, cats, ferrets and captive wild carnivores deserve better.
In this Newsletter we take another look at the dismal state of things
with a view to sparking debate and a resolution of the pet-food scourge.
Best wishes,
Tom Lonsdale
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2008 ROYAL COLLEGE OF VETERINARY SURGEONS ELECTIONS
__________________________________________________________________________
Each year since 1997 I’ve contested elections to the Royal College of
Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council.
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/elections.php
It’s been the best, effectively the only way, to communicate with the
over 21,000 vets registered to practise in the UK.
The RCVS sends candidates’ manifestos out to voters. And with a measly
quota of 300 words only brief information about the benefits of natural
food/medicine gets placed before the voters. It’s a mere drop in the
ocean when you consider the TV ads, magazine ads, vet school propaganda,
vet conference humbug and endless ‘learned’ papers that swamp the global
community with disinformation.
As in past years Roger Meacock and longstanding Raw Meaty Bones ally,
Alan Bennet, nominated me for the election.
Here’s the 2008 manifesto:
_________________________
(quote)‘Another year slips by as the veterinary profession slips
deeper into the junk pet-food mire. Thousands more pets are forced to
consume junk food by a profession that either does know or should know
better. Hundreds more school leavers enter veterinary schools to begin
their programming in diagnosis and treatment, but not prevention, of the
pandemic of junk pet-food induced diseases.
In 1995, Past President of the RCVS, Henry Carter wrote:
“For 45 years I have observed Pedigree Petfoods (and its predecessor,
Chappie Ltd) seeking to influence veterinary students and practitioners.
For over 25 years I have observed Pedigree Petfoods and other pet food
manufacturers exerting what some may consider to be undue influence on
the BSAVA. …
As a former editor of the Journal of Small Animal Practice, I believe
that your letter [Revitalising veterinary science
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/Revital.html] should have been published …
If the board of management had overturned my decision as editor, I would
have resigned on the spot. I believe in open government and free debate
in the veterinary press.
You may use these comments in any way you choose.”
Ignoring professed standards and suppressing core issues seems to be a
strategy favoured by the veterinary authorities. The RCVS promotes Pet
Food Manufacturers’ Association propaganda:
http://www.ukrmb.co.uk/showcontent.toy?contentnid=17759
In October 2007, veterinary students, betrayed by their universities and
caught in the junk pet-food mire, attempted to make sense of their
situation by convening a debate:
http://secureshop.rawmeatybones.com/newsletter/view.epl?id=48
If "self-regulation" holds any meaning then veterinary institutions and
those at the helm must be held morally, politically and legally
accountable. We need —- our clients and their animals need — urgent
resolution of the junk pet-food debacle, the most important issue facing
the veterinary profession in the 21st Century. I have the experience, am
ready to serve and seek your vote. Thank you.’ (end quote)
Now for the good news: 359 vets voted in support of the manifesto. If
assembled in one room that would be a sizeable crowd of vets who want a
better life for pets, pet owners and a more honourable vet profession.
The not such good news is that once again I trailed the poll coming a
distant last. 3,378 votes were cast for the other candidates.
http://www.rcvs.org.uk/Templates/Internal.asp?NodeID=307915
Worse news still is that a total of 21,693 UK registered vets could have
voted, but only 1.6% chose to support proposals to do something about the
junk pet-food scourge, ‘the most important issue facing the veterinary
profession in the 21st Century’.'
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PERVERSE INCENTIVES FOR VETS
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'IS IT WONDER NUTRITION OR A MODERN SCOURGE?' asks journalist Wendy
Knowler in the South African newspaper The Star. Posing the question in
such a way provokes interesting answers from the junk food exponents.
None of them claim their junk is ‘wonder nutrition’. They dissemble,
cheat and lie as per usual. http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?
set_id=1&click_id=139&art_id=vn20080526054827996C330235
Wendy Knowler tells us about ‘Perverse Incentives’, a term that’s new to
me:
___________________
(Quote)‘In South Africa, most vets have packets of pellets piled high
in the reception area of the practice.
I'm told that the receptionists are treated to lavish lunches and
other "spoils" by the pet food companies, and vets routinely attend
training seminars at luxury locations, also hosted by the industry.
The (human) medical profession has a name for such perks: perverse
incentives.
Medical reps used to give doctors expensive gifts; doctors were invited
to lavish "speaker functions" with their spouses, as well as fully-paid
medical conferences, often overseas.
But thanks to the Perverse Incentives Policy -- implemented as part of
the Medicines Control Act's Marketing Code in 2004 -- the drug company
freebies are now extremely limited.
Apparently no such limitations hamper the pet food companies in their
quest to sell as much of their product from veterinary practices as
possible.’ (end quote).
What’s your opinion? Might this be a way to get governments and
regulators to take a look at the pet-food scourge?
First, get some Perverse Incentives Policies operational in respect to
the kickbacks and drug company freebies that the vets currently enjoy.
Then when the spotlight is on the vets’ shonky business practices broaden
the focus to take in the main issue –- junk pet-food poisoning of pets
and the inherent vet corruption.'
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PERVERSE INCENTIVES FOR RETAILERS
__________________________________________________________________________
Of course, making the vets accountable for harming their patients will
only be a starting point. Supermarkets, pet shops and the monster pet-
food manufacturers need to be made legally accountable for duping pet
owners and poisoning pets.
Unfortunately, whilst they have a clear run, the pet-food manufacturers
bind their retailers with perverse incentives and thus present a united
front: http://www.ukpets.co.uk/ukp/index.php?
rtn=temp124_254_81_82_at_0345&sf=2041808368§ion=Home&sub=News&rws=&met
hod=fetch&item=1494&tb=introduction
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INTERNATIONAL FERRET CONGRESS AUSTRALIA
__________________________________________________________________________
In early May 2008 the International Ferret Congress Australia was held in
Melbourne. I was privileged to present a paper and partake of a
delightful weekend in the company of a band of enthusiastic ferret
supporters.
My admiration and thanks go to Shirley Hewett, Shona Whaite and their
team of helpers for wonderful organisation and fine hospitality. Shirley
spoke about Diet Logistics and her ferret Jaikoy demonstrated diet
logistics by devouring whole mice in full view of the audience and
flashing cameras.
Whilst the weekend provided an excellent opportunity to deal with the big
issues affecting ferret health, in particular disease prevention, the
vets who spoke dished up heavy doses of vet diagnostic and treatment
protocols – for diseases that mostly afflict ferrets fed a junk-food
diet. These same vets, when asked what to feed ferrets recommended junk
food. One American vet (or was he a pet-food salesman?) pushed the brand
names of his preferred junk products!
Zooarchaeologist Bob Church is known for his passion ‘not only for
ferrets but also for Hawaiian shirts’. Mr Church showed pictures of
skulls and teeth of domestic ferrets devastated by junk food –- teeth
ground to the pulp cavity by abrasive kibble, broken teeth, missing
teeth, rampant periodontal disease, osteomyelitis, jaw bone abscesses and
infection tracking throughout the skulls. By contrast his examinations of
skulls from ferrets that had lived in the wild revealed little or no
pathology. Dried, bleached ferret skulls can’t tell the whole sorry
story –- but they add information to that well known from reliable
veterinary, medical, dental and nutritional sources.
Unfortunately Bob Church disregards existing sources of information and
jumps to absurd conclusions far removed from his own data -- data that,
when interpreted objectively, reveals the ravages of junk pet-food and
the connivance of an incompetent veterinary profession. Here are
his ‘Recommendations’ as published in the 2007 Edition of Ferret
Husbandry, Medicine and Surgery:
______________________
(quote)‘RECOMMENDATIONS
Ferrets require regular tooth brushing with a non-fluoridated dentifrice,
with periodic inspection with probing, cleaning and polishing by a
qualified veterinarian or veterinary technician. Cages should be modified
to prevent a ferret from using their teeth [sic] in an attempt to escape.
If a softer diet cannot be provided, kibble should be softened to
minimize its abrasive effect on the teeth. If a ferret consistently
desires to chew fabrics, they [sic] should be removed (shredded paper is
a good substitute for cloth bedding). Ferrets with bad breath, facial
swellings, loose teeth and bleeding, red or puffy gums should have dental
X-rays made to check for abscesses, bad teeth and bone loss.
Veterinarians should start regarding periodontal disease as a serious
threat to a ferret’s long-term health, rather than assuming it is just a
minor problem that does not need to be aggressively addressed.
Commercially available chewing treats, such as gelatin chews or edible
sticks, should be provided for stimulating the gums and satisfying the
urge to chew. Research needs to be done on the impact of periodontal
disease on ferret health, including its involvement in other organ
diseases.’(end quote)
That Mr Church intersperses elements of truth along with
nonsensical ‘Recommendations’ worsens the impact. How can pet owners
distinguish truth from falsehood, what to accept and what to reject? That
Bob Church’s ‘Recommendations’ are now printed and bound in a textbook
ensures that they will circulate and do harm for years to come.
The animals have suffered long enough, they deserve better. It’s up to us
to speak on their behalf –- expose and root out the nonsense peddled by
pet-food companies, vets and self-styled experts.
Wishing you courage and strength in the mighty struggles ahead,
Tom Lonsdale
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We welcome copies of correspondence/emails/faxes for possible inclusion
in future RMB Newsletters.
Please circulate, distribute or reproduce this newsletter as you wish.
___________________________________________________________
The Raw Meaty Bones Newsletter is published by:
Tom Lonsdale
Rivetco P/L
PO Box 6096
Windsor Delivery Centre
NSW 2756
Australia
Phone: +61 2 4574 0537
Fax: +61 2 4578 1384
Email: tom@rawmeatybones.com
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