Pet food standards must lift
More must be done to protect animals from tainted pet food, writes Jan Davis
TWENTY-FOUR dogs have died in Victoria over recent months as a result of contaminated pet meat, with at least another 44 suffering from severe liver disease.
While retailers have recalled the toxic meat, authorities are concerned more dogs could die if pet owners still have the contaminated pet food in their freezers at home.
Test results showed the horse meat from the Northern Territory was contaminated with indospicine, a naturally occurring toxin found in an Australian native plant species called indigofera.
Indospicine can build up in the tissue of some grazing animals when they eat the plants.
Indospicine toxicity has not previously been reported in Victoria but has been reported in northern Australia where dogs eating horse or camel meat were affected.
Vets advise there is no cure for this toxin. Once the damage is done, it’s done. The only options for affected animals are palliative care, including supportive therapies such as fluids and anti-inflammatories.
An investigation by Victorian government agencies has determined that no laws were broken and there was no noncompliance by the processor.
Currently, there are no enforceable rules governing pet food standards. There is a voluntary Australian pet food industry standard for ingredients, processing and product quality assurance, but that standard is not audited.
The lack of a mandated recall process when pet food problems have been identified has also exacerbated adverse events in which pets have suffered from life-threatening illnesses.
The regulation of pet food has been a talking point for years, with a Senate inquiry into the issue in 2018.
A report on how Australia can better regulate pet food is expected to be handed down soon, almost three years after a national working group was established for the task.
The report will then be considered by state and territory agriculture ministers.
All of the members of the working group who advocate for pets have agreed that the only effective way to address the issue of pet food safety in Australia is to implement federal government regulation and a mandatory standard for the manufacturing, marketing and safety of pet food.
This includes the RSPCA, the Australian Veterinary Association, and the Pet Food IndustryAssociation of Australia.
These groups have all expressed concerns that the responsibility and decision on this important issue is being shifted from the federal government to the state and territory governments. This will cause more delays and inevitably result in inconsistent regulation across the country.
Pets are much-loved family members. The consequences of losing a beloved companion to unsafe pet food are profound and long lasting. This process has already taken too long. The time to act is now before any more Australian pets become ill and die.