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
May 10th, 2007 at 8:50 am
reba vanhorn 28690
May 10th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Sylvia Ahlberk 07652
May 10th, 2007 at 10:01 am
Carol Evon 02910
May 10th, 2007 at 10:06 am
sonya hall 05091
May 10th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Carol Herzog
60714
May 10th, 2007 at 11:02 am
SUE O’DONNELL
ZIP CODE 95519
Whoever or whatever is behind the poisoning of our pets and our fellow human beings must be identified and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
In the meantime, FDA, you need to wake up and smell the coffee and do your job!
I cannot begin to tell you how many pet foods and HUMAN FOODS I have had to throw away because of the frightening reality. Who will reimburse me for the money I spent on all of the food tossed in the garbage?
Who will compensate the poor people who have suffered damage and lost their dearly beloved pets? WHO?
Will you FDA be cutting out checks soon I ask?
May 10th, 2007 at 11:19 am
B.Heavens
60192
May 10th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
what a shame this is happening to all pet owners I for one have several sick cats from feeding recalled foods and I altready had one pass away
It’s to the point where I don’t know what ot feed or what company’s to trust
May 10th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
94564
Martha Hoffman
May 10th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
29461
Stephanie Hunter
May 10th, 2007 at 5:27 pm
Amy McCormick
68154
May 10th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
Robyn Katz 07208
May 10th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Karen Bodiford
78731
May 10th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
sandra longa
23-26 sound street,
Astoria, NY 11105
May 11th, 2007 at 2:26 am
92116-Rachel Hicks
May 11th, 2007 at 3:05 am
I’ve switched my dogs to all homemade dog food.
http://homemadehealthypetfood.com
May 11th, 2007 at 5:41 am
14747 Debbie Johnson
May 11th, 2007 at 6:08 am
Maryellen Madaio 02474
May 11th, 2007 at 6:48 am
Sharon Coggswell
97053
coggswell35@hotmail.com
May 11th, 2007 at 8:08 am
39565
Sandra Alawine
May 11th, 2007 at 9:28 am
SUSAN HANS 11378
I HAD TO BE TO SLEEP MY CAT (WHO WAS FULL OF LIFE AND GOT VERY SICK IN APRIL) ON 5/7/2007 DUE TO KIDNEY AND LIVER FAILURE DUE TO FOOD THAT WAS RECALLED!!!
May 11th, 2007 at 11:34 am
01060
Danielle Elliott
May 11th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
Melinda A. Irwin
17837
May 11th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Melinda Irwin
17837
May 11th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
18045- Laurie Pusateri
May 11th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
77008 Sharon Kittinger-Murphy
email@bdmkps.com
I am the owner of Big Dog & Miss Kitti’s Pet Sitting Services in Houston, TX. My company currently has about 800 clients. Additionally I am the founder of the Houston Area Professional Pet Sitting Associates networking group as well as the organizer for the Houston Pet Sitter Meet Up group. I’m active in the pet care industry on local, state, and national levels… and I don’t know one person who hasn’t been effected by this.
Character and respect are earned through actions. A full apology is required from each of the companies involved in these “incidents”… and a true apology is more than just words… it includes genuine remorse, accepting responsibility, providing restitution, and putting a plan in place that would prevent something like this from ever happening again in the future.
The companies who step up to the plate and do what is right will be viewed in an entirely different light than those who continue to pass the blame or hide things from consumers.
I urge the individuals who have the ability to effect change with this horrible tainted pet food atrocity to immediately do whatever it takes to restore all that has been damaged and go forward with procedures that are safe for every living being.
May 11th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Patricia Bentzen
92130
May 11th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
53147, Cheri McBride
May 11th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
85087
Dennis Madden
May 11th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
47201
Tiffany Rice
May 11th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
98370
Theresa Sullivan
May 11th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
98370 Theresa Sullivan
Please let the truth be known and do all you can to hold those responsible for the wrong they have done.
May 11th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
87144
Deborah Frazier
May 12th, 2007 at 5:28 am
26508 Robert Scott
May 12th, 2007 at 5:44 am
Jan Lawson
77449
May 12th, 2007 at 5:59 am
I think all who are responsible for the poisoning and death of all these innocent pets and the grief of there parents need to be accountable for this tragic act. This was not an accident. It was done on purpose for money and greed. The FDA is at fault also. All need to be put in camps and fed this contaminated food.
May 12th, 2007 at 7:22 am
Accountability! The emotional impact, as well as the financial impact on, just for example, breeders that feed their entire kennels any of these foods, has to be addressed. Congress can not just look at this disaster as “a few pets died’….it is possible someones entire business and livelyhood could have been wiped out by this. As responsible pet owners, we must hold their feet to the fire on this one! Our babies have no voice in this….we must speak for not only the ones that have dodged the bullet this time, but also for all the ones permanently injured or lost over this! This absolutely infuriates me!
Judy Wright
77089
May 12th, 2007 at 8:45 am
laura ruddiman
07621
I lost my rottweiler Thor
May 12th, 2007 at 8:48 am
12197
Mary Ann Bayne
May 12th, 2007 at 9:07 am
Sherrie Hall 69341
May 12th, 2007 at 9:17 am
18015 Cindy Dinsmore
May 12th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico 58341
Joanne Dinsmore
May 12th, 2007 at 9:18 am
18015 Cindy Dinsmore
May 12th, 2007 at 11:50 am
07863 Christina Suyker
07829 Jana Lightcap
May 12th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Harold Taylor
06109
May 12th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
96706 Valerie Henighan
This should of NEVER happened,our pets are our family!!!!
May 12th, 2007 at 12:47 pm
How could you let this happen to our PRECIOUS PETS !!!!
May 12th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
95828 Susie Gross
How could you let this happen to our PRECIOUS PETS !!!!
May 12th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
60202
May 12th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Craig Phillips
90731