When I saw that thread, I took some action and wrote them a letter on my thoughts and how I thought it morally wrong on how they used cats/dogs for their testing. I did receive a response from customer service to my reply, which basically had nada to do with what I wrote them (Im sorry I lost both my email and theirs because of that last virus that went around
) Anyhoo, I just received another update from them...read it all, I don't know if what they state is accurate or not, but on the bottom of the email I just got, it states about an extreme activist group that is misleading consumers about them using the facility which they have not used for over a year (but of course and as always, who can say who is right, its all word of mouth..err...type. I just thought I'd share my email I received with all
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Hello,
We are writing you today because you have contacted us in the past regarding Iams nutritional studies. We write with an exciting update about The Iams Company's Dog and Cat Welfare Program. As we told you in prior communications, we at Iams are committed to helping dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives through innovative nutrition that truly makes a difference. This spirit of innovation is found in every area of our business, including the care and well-being of the dogs and cats who participate in our feeding studies.
Recall, in July, 2003, we announced the establishment of our independent International Animal Care Advisory Board. This group, along with other outside experts, has helped us make significant advancements in our welfare program. Following are examples of the progress we've made:
? We support the ultimate elimination of laboratory feeding studies as scientifically valid alternatives become available. Iams will actively work with external partners to develop new research methods in pet nutrition which do not require laboratory feeding studies.
? We are taking full responsibility for the destiny of all dogs and cats that participate in our feeding studies at both internal and external sites. Our dogs and cats are either adopted into loving homes or placed in the Iams retirement center when they no longer participate in our feeding studies. This is unprecedented in the pet arena; we know of no other company that is taking this level of responsibility for the ongoing well-being of all dogs and cats with whom they work.
? We are proactively sharing the Iams Welfare Program for dogs and cats in an effort to make it the norm. An Iams Behaviorist has shared our socialization and enrichment program with shelters, veterinarians and others to illustrate that it's possible to enrich and socialize in such an environment. In addition, we recently presented our program to others in the pet food industry. We are committed to continual improvement in this area and are looking to adopt best practices in animal care and nutritional research wherever they are created. We will continue to actively search and reapply good ideas from around the world.
To take a look at all of the ways Iams is leading change in the pet food industry, as well as review our policy and our advisory board members, please see:
www.iamstruth.com
Feel free to share this with others. This is especially important because an extreme activist organization continues a misleading campaign featuring footage that's more than a year old of a facility Iams no longer uses. This inaccurate account includes examples of dogs and cats that were not part of our studies, and makes claims of activities that Iams never authorized.
Please let us know if you have any questions or comments after reviewing this material.
Sincerely,
Marti
Iams Consumer Care, NA
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I do continue to write them as I am an owner of a dog, cat, ferret, iguana. Im definitely an animal lover of all sorts and do not tolerate any wrongful behavior on their parts. I will be writing another email once I get some time. Please read, if you have questions/suggestions you may want to add, please let me know, I will gladly bring up anything I can to the Iams crew.
IMO it does seem they are interested in what the people do have to say though, I never did expect another email to come from them, so I do give them credit for keeping me informed on their issues they deal with. Personally No, I do not use Iams, but to me, even so on what I saw in those pics on that last thread, I wasnt happy about it, and nontheless, I like to make a contribution to fight for anything/body that cannot speak for themselves and are in helpless situations as such where cruelty is involved even if its just in writing form
