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 1:48 pm
Pat Taylor
13316
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:49 pm
zip code 32780, Shelley Nettles
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:53 pm
33704
stacey ward
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Steven
48328
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Our pets are our family! Please help us to protect them! I just lost TC last month. The Vet couldn’t explain what happened…..was it the food?????
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:04 pm
04062
Cal Stanley
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Curtis S. WIlson
91403
My story is number 250.
Thank you
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Mel Solano
33872
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Christy 32801
March 23, 2007
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:17 pm
I lost two dogs to to this gross mis-justice, it is time for stricter laws concerning pet foods!
Margaret Picus
89052
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Debra Gates
73120
Not only have these people caused pet owners to poison their beloved pets, it seems they are also severely underreporting the number of affected pets. Those of you who have lost pets have my deepest sympathy. I want to see you get what you think is justice for you and your pets.
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:32 pm
This is absolutely maddening.
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:33 pm
90802
Lisa Braun
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Doug Burkhart
40242
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:38 pm
28730 Brock Mancini
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:40 pm
10028 Kellman My health dog had to be put to sleep Dec 23 she could not walk, eat, drink, This loss is trememdous and continues to be. I could scream. All 11 Years I had this perfect dog he was on nutro wet and dry foods and treats. Recently he had 3 pouches of there newer food. How can one company be responsible for all these foods. I hope a law is made that no company can have the market on this. There would never have been all these losses…………..
One Very Mad and Depression Person
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Carl Lafferty
21218
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Excuse my gramatic errors as I am very upset. I would like the name of a lawyer in nyc that may be involved in this situation.
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Steve Gonring 53086
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:54 pm
77414 Dorothy Simmons
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:57 pm
31061 Shirley Blizzard
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Jill Schubert
44107
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Mary Moren 85835 - Pretty sure this recall will not just be for wet/pouch foods! AND I’m pretty sure it won’t be just recent events! We fed our two Beagles dry Science Diet and lo-n-behold… a healthy 5 year with normal blood tests and normal annual exam just a couple months earlier was diagnosed with… yes… acute kidney disease out of the blue.. The vet said she couldn’t figure it out but she did note there had been a few “other cases recently” which was odd in dogs so young…. The saddest part was after treating the first dog for over six months and watching her get worse even with hospitalization, IV’s, Xrays, daily dose of fluids, different meds including steroids and several thousand dollars later…. she had to be put down due to the terrible suffering. Then a very short 11 months the 2nd dog was gone! NEWS FLASH…. This began in August 2005 and the first dog down was January 2006 and second dog down in December 2006. We rescued an older Beagle recently and she appears healthy but immediately threw out the Science Diet last night AFTER I went to the vet and they said they thought the recall would grow to include the dry food too! We will gladly join any Class Action in order to effect changes for the future well being of our of our animals here and abroad as necessary!
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:23 pm
80016 Thomas Lahey
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:26 pm
53142
Linda Stumpf
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:40 pm
53405
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:40 pm
53405 BARB MCDONALD
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:47 pm
76039 Renate McCollum
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:51 pm
98037 DAnnell Williams
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:59 pm
33324
Annette Seydlitz
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Kasey Lance
48912
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Just by pure luck, my cat was being fed foods not on the list. Isn’t there any type of quality control or are stray cats and dogs (taster animals) cheaper than equipment and technicians. Crucify the idiots.
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:02 pm
10023, Cynthia Weinman I am so furious at Menu Foods, but even more so at Nutro since they are the brand name and it is likely that they knew about this for a while. Our cat Dennis started to refuse to eat a month ago (he probably knew there was something wrong with the Nutro food) and when I think of the weeks we spent urging our poor cat to eat this poisonous food, it makes me want to cry. Thank god he’s OK, but no thanks to these greedy manufacturers who don’t care about our animals, only about their money. Nutro’s punishment should be that their CEO and vice presidents should have to eat the food they sold to us — that certainly would make them more careful in the future.
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Kip Mason
Zip Code: 80111
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Jessica Weatherby
The pet food companies should be accountable for their actions or lack of action in this case. For most of my family and friends, our pets are our family, and these companies are killing our “children” inadvertly and they should be held accountable for this.
32257
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:13 pm
43026 M. Eichenlaub
Once complaints began to come in, this food was tested and as many as one in six animals died during those tests but the manufacturer still did not recall the foods. Pet owners bought into their claims of having a “happier, healthier pet” if they purchased their products. The manufacturers got their money and pet owners all over are left only with carcasses!
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Zip Code 33071
The pet food companies should be accountable for their actions or lack of action in this case, including the FDA. The FDA is not doing enough to make sure that the food that we feed our pets (my case my children) is safe. The food that we feed them is also affecting their immune system and this is the reason why our pets die of cancer.
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:29 pm
Us pet owners are under alot of stress worrying about if our brand of dog food will be safe– Our furkids are very precious to us and not just consider property but a member of our families. The pet food companies should be held responsible we put our trust in them and they have viloated our trust. Thank you
Louise Jones, 1836 Hancock B ridge Parkway, Cape Coral-33990–Diohgi@aol.com
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:29 pm
85340 Roxanne Kearns
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:34 pm
It is easy to go and buy just any pet food. But pet food, like anything else, is a “get what you pay for” deal. Yes, pet food companies have neat advertising and cute puppies and kittens on their packaging, and they will swear up and down the block that it is the best, most nutritous, most safe pet food you can possibly buy. But a public unwilling to educate themselves on what goes into the making, testing, and marketing of something they will feed a pet, possibly an expensive pet , at the very least an extension of ones family, is a public that is almost asking for a disastrous event such as this to happen. That sounds harsh, but really, a little research goes a long way. Until that kind of thing can happen, I say hold them responsible not only for the owned pets who have died, but for all of the animal lives wasted during their ridiculous testing procedures that are SUPPOSED to prevent an owners animal from dying. If this was one of my dogs,I WOULD WANT TO KICK SOMEONES ASS IN A REAL BAD WAY. Feed Kumpi.
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:34 pm
85718 Robert Rowley
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Harrisburg, PA 17112 2 cats with acute renal failure
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:48 pm
33064
Christine Dodd
March 23rd, 2007 at 4:57 pm
MELANIE HILL
melanie.jpechacek@farmersagency.com
76708
March 23rd, 2007 at 5:19 pm
50677
Jan Emerson
March 23rd, 2007 at 5:20 pm
My Family at this point are afraid to feed our pets any wet foods, and were also advised by our vet that any of the softfoods, treats, or even dry foods for pets manufactured by this company should be avoided of which really narrows what we can feed our pets, of which has become very costly..
And how do we know that somehow this was not done on purpose by China, with all that is going on the polictical front with this country and China…
March 23rd, 2007 at 5:26 pm
91402
Dina Cabrera
March 23rd, 2007 at 6:00 pm
28205
Mary Massie
My cat was put to sleep on Feb.28, 2007 because of kidney failure. I was feeding him Iams Select Bites in Gravy. The most important thing, my cat, cannot be replaced. However, I want compensation for at least the vet and cremation expenses incurred from their tainted product.
March 23rd, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Richard Hoth 50677
March 23rd, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Alexandra Youngs
92131