Animal Shelter, Pop Singer, Boycott IAMS

Wood Green Animal Shelter in London, England recently severed all ties with animal-testing "pet" food company IAMS. The pop singer Morrissey, brooding former lead singer of The Smiths, has also vowed to boycott the company until it stops experimenting on dogs and cats.

IAMS Co., manufacturer of the IAMS/Eukanuba line of dog and cat foods, is accused by animal advocacy organizations of conducting unnecessary, cruel and deadly experiments on dogs and cats.

A recent PETA undercover investigation revealed deplorable conditions at an IAMS contract laboratory. At least 27 dogs were killed, while others died of illnesses that went untreated, despite assurances from IAMS that no animal in any IAMS test would ever be deliberately killed.

PETA's investigator revealed a long list of cruel practices at the laboratory, including dogs and cats confined to small, barren cages, some for up to six years; dogs' vocal cords surgically cut out so that they couldn't bark; workers' reports of a live kitten who was washed down a drain; kennels that were extremely hot in the summer and near freezing in the winter; and dogs being force-fed vegetable oil through tubes inserted down their throats.

"Animal lovers unwittingly fund horrendous cruelty to dogs and cats when they buy IAMS products, and we're thrilled that Morrissey is helping PETA get the message out," said Mary Beth Sweetland, senior vice president of PETA's Research & Investigations Department.

"Animals shouldn't live in squalor and misery for the sake of IAMS' profits," she said.

Several animal advocacy groups including In Defense of Animals (IDA), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Uncaged Campaigns, are demanding that IAMS cease all invasive and harmful studies performed on healthy animals, stop purchasing animals from companies that breed animals for sale to laboratories, and engage only in clinical research that utilizes non-invasive procedures on dogs and cats who are enrolled in the study by their guardians.

Until IAMS reforms its practices, the groups are advising concerned individuals to boycott IAMS products and to contact the company to urge it to stop conducting invasive and unethical research on animals.

More information, video footage, and photographs, can be found at www.IamsCruelty.com, and at www.IamsKills.com.

© 2004 Animal News Center, Inc.