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 23rd, 2007 at 11:25 am
Claudia Seelen 77590
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:28 am
I would wish that every decision-making executive of each and every company involved in this horrible mess would be made to suffer the exact same pain and death that they have caused for so very many of our four-legged babies. We must find ways to keep this from ever happening again. Labels must contain ALL information as to the production of these foods; Brand name, Production company name, Plant name and location, full and detailed list of each and every ingredient with % of each included. There must be strict and stringent laws put in place to hold these companies, and the individuals of these companies, wholly responsible for their products and whatever damage and suffering their products may cause. There must also be a means to enforce these laws. May God bless and have mercy on all of those affected by this and may He help us all to find the means to keep this from ever happening again.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:31 am
Laurie Fitzgerald-Westberg
97415
My pets mean the world to me and anything that can/will harm them is totally unacceptable. Pets are members of families and bring such unconditional love to thos of us who are fortunate enough to be members of their world. They depend on us for everything and those companies who are involved in the well being of pets should be held accountable for anything that can be harmful or deadly to them.
If any companies will not accept this responsibility they should cease operations immediately.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:51 am
11756
linda ferretti
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:53 am
Linda Ferretti
11756
My dog died 3/12/07 from kidney failure. I did feed him some Ol Roy wet food.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:57 am
Jamie Gronley, 95133
My kids mean the world to me. THANK GOD they weren’t eating any of these foods…
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:02 pm
Verneeda Adkins
25309
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:03 pm
38139 Kathryn Schultz
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:03 pm
25309
Verneeda Adkins
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:03 pm
08520-2407 miriam and william blair
there needs to be much more stringent rules as to pet foods….this is disgraceful!!!!!!! so many innocent pets have to suffer from good old american manufacturing greed and indifference!!!!!!
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Michael Adkins
25309
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:04 pm
11003 13
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:05 pm
Mary Brua
25309
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Menu foods should be financially responsible for all medical tests and bills, for we all have to protect our kids (pets) and we have to take them to the vet to make sure that there is no problem. Someone should be paying for their vet bills, aside from the parents (owenrs).
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Dawn Evans 92553
I am very disturbed by the slow response by all the company’s involved. I lost my dog as many others have lost their animals. These pet were a large part of our families. Someone needs to accept responsibility for our losses and the suffering our pets went through.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Anne Molnar 08822
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:22 pm
70117 paul c allen
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:22 pm
78228, Martha Sevier
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:26 pm
92065 Cristina Chenette
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Pet’s are some of us only children. I know they are mine. I trust the food i give mine wich is the High end stuff not junk. We need to hold the Industary accountabile. They make over 14 billion on us. They can do there part. Pass laws for pets like humans.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:27 pm
07047
Renee Dent
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Companies should be held accountable any and all damages they do.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Companies need to be held accountable for damages they do.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:33 pm
All companies should be held account for damages they do.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Misty Goodman 61878
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:42 pm
zip: 04864, Carolyn Damon - I believe I now know what killed my 4 1/2 year old Brittany in 2005. She developed vomiting, diarrhea, was leaking urine, and even though I spent $5000 trying to save her life no one had a clue what to do. I had an autopsy done at Portland Emergency Veterinary Clinic in Portland, Maine. She had aplastic anemia. No red blood cells in her body. Her spine was like jello I was told. I am angry. This was now declared on CNN today to be contamination by rat poison. I am outraged. Rat poison would have had the effects on my dog Rheba that I mentioned. I now cook for my current. I will never trust these people again!!!
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Bahareh Harandi 60622
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:47 pm
89128
Teresa Walton
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:47 pm
LESLIE ANDRZEJEWSKI
44836
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Susan Argyrides 11758
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:51 pm
75219, Shayne Morgan
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:51 pm
john j. stevensonn
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:53 pm
27607 Patricia McCutchen
I have NO remaining confidence in any pet food on the market and will not until regulations are put in place AND enforced that require ongoing toxicological monitoring of all products made by the pet food industry. In the absence of effective oversight of this corrupt industry, every time we open a can or a bag of pet food and feed it to our beloved companions, we’re basically playing Russian roulette wtih their lives.
Oh and . . .thanks again to China and to our government’s disastrous global trade policies for bringing the rat-poison-laced wheat product into this country in the first place. We should be boycotting Menu foods and all pet food manufacturers who use them as a supplier. We should also be boycotting EVERYTHING that comes into this country from China.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:57 pm
83646 Shirley Greene
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Sarah Kelley
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Michaela Hinerman 80015
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Sarah Kelley
37660
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:03 pm
14609
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:14 pm
elaine nasta 10304 I went to Waldbaums today and they are still selling Americ’a Choice Preffered Pet wet food. I checked the upc code and the numbers are only 1 # off from the ones listed (last diget being different). Am I supposed to feel safe with this? I had been feeding my ferals this brand (I feed about 8-10) and trap them for TNR. Two weeks ago, I trapped 2 little ones for TNR, and when I called to see how they were doing, I was told that one of them had died!!! Of course, I will never know if the food was the reason, but I feel very bad about this situation and a bit guilty. Items still on shelves? It’s ALL about the money!!! ~:o( TAKE EM ALL OFF.
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:15 pm
21224
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Robert Johnson / March 23 2007
Baltimore, 21224
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:19 pm
Zip: 98506
John Zappulla
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:23 pm
My wife and I can not get over the loss of our pet dalmation,
we had her for eight years and she was in good health. Suddenly
in December she got very sick, the vet said she had kidney failure.
Two days after Christmas she died, we thought we did something wrong
and could not forgive ourselfs, now we find out her favorite dog food
killed her.
Robert Johnson, 21224
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:24 pm
33776Carole A. Errico George F. Errico
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:28 pm
45036 Clara Smith
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:28 pm
07003 Patricia C. Gilleran
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Pat Seals
80603
We pet owners purchase feed, relying heavily on manufacturers promise of good nutrition and quality of their products.
Manufacturers MUST be held responsible for poisoning our pets ! They should, by all rights, be forced to reimburse pet owners for vet bills created by their lack of due diligence.
Just why didn’t the manufacturer of the affected foods not discover this dreadful ingredient? Aren’t they supposed to analyze their product, as they state?
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:33 pm
96813
I cannot believe these laws do not already exist!
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:36 pm
13203 Paula Ann Taylor
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:39 pm
This is just dreadful. My little Brandy was throwing up and pooping something feirce a couple of months back. I finally switched food and it finally stop. But the Iams and Mighty Dog pouch food I have been feeding her for years now explains all of the doctors visits $$$ and the throwing up and pooping. I hope there will be a class action suit - because Menu Food must pay.