Petition to Require Pet Food Companies to be Held Accountable for Damages
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED:
Request that the U.S. Congress enact legislation to require pet food manufacturers and the companies that market those pet food brands to be held financially liable for any medical costs related to or contributing to the illness and/or death of a pet that can be reasonably attributed to the food consumed by the pet. And that all pet foods include the name of the manufacturer, not just the brand under which it is sold.
This petition is in response to the thousands of pet parents and owners who have suffered under the Menu Foods recall and their slow response that started on March 16th, 2007.
Sign after the jump.
Or read about all the latest news surrounding the recall.
In creating this petition, our motive is three-fold:
- First, we want to ease the pain and suffering of those who have lost their pets due to mistakes and negligence of pet food makers. The loss or illness of a pet can be emotionally devastating. On top of it, the financial burden of uninsured veterinary treatment can be a double-whammy, leading pet parents and their families to significant financial damage — often affecting other family members such as kids and the elderly. This legislation will create a venue for settling these cases fairly and out of court, eliminating the need for a lengthy court case, which companies rely on in order to reduce the likelihood of payout.
- Second, create a financial motive for pet food makers and marketers to set higher standards for pet food. We want to let them know that consumers are interested in higher-grade pet food. And that the longer a company waits in issuing warnings or recalls related to their product, the larger the potential financial damage. This new law would hold the manufacturers (often smaller, less financially sound organizations) and also the larger corporations that market the branded foods — who ultimately control what goes in them.
- Third, a clear public disclosure of who actually makes the food. Since the financial liability falls to the brand as well as the manufacturer, the name of the company that actually produced the food should be obvious to the consumer. How much clearer would this recall have been if the food was labeled “Made by Menu Foods”?
Once the final tally of the pet deaths is complete, the petition will be delivered to the head of the congressional committee that controls FDA funding (Dave Obey, D-WI, chairman of House Appropriations Committee).
IMPORTANT!
For your petition to be valid, we require:
- An accurate email address
- Your First and Last name (In the comment field)
- Your Zip code (In the comment field)
Your email will not appear below and will be kept securely by us. Your email will be used ONLY in the purposes of carrying out the petition. It will not be used for spam, sold or marketed to any other company. We hate spam as much as you do. Only your name, Zip code, and any comment you make will appear.
This petition is sponsored by itchmo.com. Please feel free to start your own email campaign to this page. The short link to use is http://www.itchmo.com/petition
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Kathleen Cullen 92116
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:31 pm
22031
Sandra Dunhill
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Lynette Ackman 60630
WHY are pet food companies allowed to declare pet food “complete and balanced nutrition” based on six animals completing a six-month food trial?
It is CONSUMER FRAUD.
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:38 pm
16877
Patty Lambert
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Matt Miller 04011
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:59 pm
THIS PETITION MEANS ALOT TO THOSE OF US WHO HAVE LOST OUR PETS DUE TO THIS RECALL OF CONTAMINATED FOOD. GOD BLESS
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:01 pm
19131 Stacey Gaskins
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:07 pm
christine carabetta
12430
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Debra Savittieri
85258
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:17 pm
07945 Chris Jurist
People need to understand that pets are some people’s only family and they are to treated like people and cared for in the same manner.
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Kate Palmer 06903
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:24 pm
My Sugar Bear is gravely ill and hospitalized currently onloy 6 yrs old> she ate IAMS canned foods alternatly since nov. Diagnosis extreme kidney failure…..not gettting better even though she is hospitalized and IV etc>My beef is now with the vets who won’t care for her without payment first….$3000 dollars.
Talk about in- humane. I want to let pet owners know who these vets are and vet hospitals are that turned me away. dies.! Kill, thier practice!!!! I want to expose these profesionals so that their ability to ‘act’ like they help Please call me. (602) 570-9007
Pray.
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:31 pm
Claudia Stratton 97042
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Alanna Roff, 17025
March 22nd, 2007 at 3:45 pm
93550
Dusti Hutchings
March 22nd, 2007 at 4:11 pm
34482 Mollie Henry
March 22nd, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Helen Reynolds
06084
March 22nd, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Dianne Mofidi 95758 My cat Meow, who was my friend for 12 years died March 1 2007. She ate Iams tuna with ocean white fish in sauce as a treat every day. She died of severe renal failure, her BUN was 200 and her creatinine was 18. She was a healthy cat until about two days before she died. I still hear her meow. My kids and I miss her every day.
March 22nd, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Amanda
Canada
N5C 1P1
March 22nd, 2007 at 4:45 pm
15206 Jenee Libby
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Joan Batcha
60516
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Tonya Faulks
29372
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:50 pm
13210 Jacob Eichten
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:52 pm
For those of us that consider our pets our family, this would not even be an issue if it was humans dying. The manufacturers need to be held to the stricktest accountability.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:01 pm
90028
Melanie Cretens
I am crying at some of the comments here from the victims who have lost their pet, or are watching them go through renal failure. Please go to this link: http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/project.....ntents.htm
Iams is one of the worst. It’s disgusting and until some mass lawsuit and public outcry occurs, they will get away with MURDER.
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:17 pm
63118
Joy Ward
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Carrie Schumacher
98006
The simple fact they do not post the many deaths and illness’s is very alarming. The same regulations should be for my pets food as well as ours. Since they are our responsiblity, it is their responsiblity to us, to maintain the decent balance of their food. Not poison our pets, because it is cost effective to them.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:17 pm
17112 Choy-Foong Wong
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:20 pm
44039 Nancy Winrod
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:28 pm
44039 Nancy and Rick Winrod
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:37 pm
94804
Holly Harwood
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:40 pm
94122
Deidre Howell
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:43 pm
MaryEllen Marshall
94109
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Officially, my cat had a bloodclot and complications. But I think a number of those complications could have pointed back to the food he ate. He had Iams canned sometimes. He was one of the best friends I ever had. He was only 13. We could have been together for another 5 years.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Colette Annas 80111
Would also be nice to see regulated labels just like required for any other food.
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Gordon Hawley 93003
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Julie Schauber 93013
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:05 pm
Kris Jensen-Van Heste 08003
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:13 pm
44130 Judy Smothers
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:14 pm
44130 Jerry Kaufmann
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Joseph Leven 19151
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Darrell Turner 01702,
My cat has been living with kidney failure, poor little Guy. He can’t control boules throwing up all the time, because of the crappy foods. Aways diarea, he has a terrible life. I think its Because of the FDA does do what there supposed to do keep us and pets safe since it was put into Homeland Security We don’t have a chance against those ass holes We get poison and are pets don’t have prayer.
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Debra Rivera 95901
I lost a toy poodle to this food and want to find someone who is doing a class action suit. My heart is broken, my baby was only 4 years old!
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:28 pm
Joyce F Casto 08069 We miss our beloved pet.
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:49 pm
should be amended to read “And that all pet foods include the name(s) of the manufacturer(s), and plant location(s)…
michael giacco 33896
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:01 pm
21234 - Linda Plack
It makes me so sad to read of all the people who have lost their beloved pets. I am grateful that our spoiled little cat baby is okay, and I hope that her food doesn’t appear on the list in the future. She has eaten Fancy Feast for years and so far everything seems to be fine. Menu Food should be held accountable, but so should the supplier of whatever ingredient it turns out to be that was contaminated. I hope other pet food manufacturers are aware of who that is and will come forward if they have been supplied by that company. My sense of security is a little shaky until I know for sure that no other manufacturers have been affected. Answers seem to be slow in coming.
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Yuni LaFontaine 90291
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:19 pm
95110
March 22nd, 2007 at 11:03 pm
92677
Maggie Harryman
My thoughts and prayers go out to all who have lost a special part of their family. The Pet food industry should pay $$$$
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:21 am
Holly Antos 18612
I think that most people regard their pets as family members and these pet food companies need to realize that if they themselves wouldn’t want to feed the crap they are manufacturing to their own family members why would we (the consumers) want to feed it to them either? I think that menu foods should be held accountable. They failed to act quickly and I still don’t think pet owners have the “whole” story, and I fear they never will. This company instead of coming forth and trying to save as many pets lives as possible decided to hide behind their wall of corporate greed to milk and mooch as much money out of their products as possible, and instead of consoling pet owners, taking action, and taking responsibility for their actions they commented and complained about how much the recall was going to cost them as if to say you should feel sorry for them because they lost ton of money. They have the nerve to say this despite the fact they have taken away something from people across the country that money can’t buy. Pets lives, our family members lives. For those whose pets became ill but survived how many years, months, weeks have this company shaved off of your pets lives? What are the long term effects? What will the bills incurred end up being in the future because of this? No matter how hard the pet food industry tries to suck up, they are too late, theres one thing they can’t give us back, our pets lives, health, or longevity. For this these pet food companies and menu foods should suffer. I personally will never purchase, buy, or use ANY brand pet food found on the recall list, manufactured by menu foods, or in any way related to those involved. I can not and will not put trust back in these companies. On a final note pet food manufacturers should be made to clearly state which manufacturer makes their products and also the plant code locations so that in the event of a recall there is more organization and the products can be removed from store shelves as quickly as possible, provided the company comes forth before the problem becomes crisis unlike menu foods sorry attempt at swift, effective, action. I am enraged by the way this was handled, and that it happened in the first place, and my heart goes out to everyone who fed their pets any of these products.