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Animals have very sensitive endocrine systems that are often even more intolerant to toxins than humans. Environmental factors are a major cause of such toxins. This has been substantiated by World Wildlife Foundation research and reported at length on the World Wildlife Fund's internet sites – to summarize some of their research:
EVEN WILDLIFE ARE TOXIC
Studies in the polar ice caps on wildlife has shown that many contaminants of concern have harmful impacts on immune, reproductive, hormone, and neurologic function and on behavior and development. Notable reproductive effects associated with contaminant exposures include diminished fertility and reduced sperm production, altered hormone levels, decline in offspring numbers and their survival, an increase in deformities and offspring deaths, and possibly pseudo-hermaphrodism.
Behavioral modifications affecting movement, feeding, predator avoidance, learning and memory, and social interactions have been linked to alterations in thyroid hormone levels and neurotransmitter release and function. Lowered resistance to common bacterial and viral diseases is a prominent sign of immune suppression associated with delayed or absent immune responses and altered Vitamin A equilibrium.
Finally, increases in the occurrences of cancers in exposed populations may reflect exposure to certain toxic substances. These health issues are also observed by veterinary doctors working with domestic pets.
PETS ARE ALSO TOXIC!
Pets can also become toxic from their environment as often they are in contact with various paints, varnishes and other chemicals in the house, including brominated flame retardant (BFR) chemicals used on carpets, cushions and other linen. These flame-retardants are slow to break down, attracted to fat, and able to evaporate into and be transported through air. They are likely to cause cancer and function as hormone disruptors, adversely affecting reproduction and thyroid hormone function.
Pet food is another source of toxicity as often the addition of substantial amounts of toxins, especially heavy metals like aluminium to their canned and dried food is a major cause of disease. Fish used by several manufacturers of canned cat food are another source of mercury - the larger the fish, the more mercury it is likely to contain. Download the following articles:
PENTOBARBITAL IN PET FOODS!
Pentobarbital, a drug frequently used to euthanize pets, continues to be found in pet food – this is probably from pets, cattle and horses that have been euthanized using pentobarbital and then sent to rendering plants. Some veterinarians believe that feeding your pets foods that contain even traces of pentobarbital can definitely be slowly causing chronic degenerative disease to happen much faster. A growing number of veterinarians state that processed pet food (kibbles and canned food) is the main cause of illness and premature death in the modern dog and cat. In December 1995, the British Journal of Small Animal Practice published a paper contending that processed pet food suppresses the immune system and leads to liver, kidney, heart and other diseases.
Rendering plants process decomposing animal carcasses, large roadkill and euthanised dogs and cats into a dry protein product that is sold to the pet food industry. One small plant in Quebec, Ontario, renders 10 tons (22,000 pounds) of dogs and cats per week. The Quebec Ministry of Agriculture states that "the fur is not removed from dogs and cats" and that "dead animals are cooked together with viscera, bones and fat at 115° C (235° F) for 20 minutes".
Some of these dead pets - those euthanised by veterinarians - already contain pentobarbital before treatment with the denaturing process. According to University of Minnesota researchers, the sodium pentobarbital used to euthanise pets "survives rendering without undergoing degradation".
MYCOTOXINS, FAT STABILIZERS & LEAD COCKTAILS!
Mycotoxins, potentially deadly fungal toxins that multiply in mouldy grains, have been found in pet foods in recent years. In 1995, Nature's Recipe recalled tons of their dog food after dogs became ill from eating it. The food was found to contain vomitoxin, a mycotoxin. Harmful chemicals and preservatives are added to both wet and dry food. For example, sodium nitrite, a colouring agent and preservative and potential carcinogen, is a common additive. Other preservatives include ethoxyquin (an insecticide that has been linked to liver cancer) and BHA and BHT, chemicals also suspected of causing cancer. The average dog can consume as much as 26 pounds of preservatives every year from eating commercial dog foods.
Fat stabilisers are introduced into the finished rendered product to prevent rancidity. Common chemical stabilisers include BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) - both known to cause liver and kidney dysfunction - and ethoxyquin, a suspected carcinogen. Many semi-moist dog foods contain propylene glycol - first cousin to the anti-freeze agent, ethylene glycol, that destroys red blood-cells.
Lead frequently shows up in pet foods, even those made from livestock meat and bone meal. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study, titled "Lead in Animal Foods", found that a nine-pound cat fed on commercial pet food ingests more lead than the amount considered potentially toxic for children.
"Vegetable protein", the mainstay of dry dog foods, includes ground yellow corn, wheat shorts and middlings, soybean meal, rice husks, peanut meal and peanut shells (identified as "cellulose" on pet food labels). These often are little more than the sweepings from milling room floors. Stripped of their oil, germ and bran, these "proteins" are deficient in essential fatty acids, fat-soluble vitamins and antioxidants. "Animal protein" in commercial pet foods can include diseased meat, roadkill, contaminated material from slaughterhouses, faecal matter, rendered cats and dogs and poultry feathers. The major source of animal protein comes from dead-stock removal operations that supply so-called "4-D" animals - dead, diseased, dying or disabled - to "receiving plants" for hide, fat and meat removal. The meat (after being doused with charcoal and marked "unfit for human consumption") may then be sold for pet food.
The following practices are used by some pet food manufacturers:
- POOR PROTEIN SOURCES Soybean Meal, Wheat, Corn Glutens, Corn Meal, Whole Corn, Crushed Corn and Ground Corn are commonly used for their protein content in many pet foods. These ingredients are generally poor sources of protein vs. meat.
- CHEMICAL PRESERVATIVES BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin are found in many pet foods. Scientific studies have proven that these chemicals can be harmful. In fact, they have been shown to promote liver disease and other medical problems.
- FOOD COLORING Food colorings are still commonly used in pet foods today despite the fact that they are not necessary and some have been linked to medical problems.
- BY-PRODUCTS By-products can vary ... they can consist of the internal parts of animals such as necks, heads, undeveloped eggs, feet, intestines, lungs, spleen and liver.
The salt content of many pet foods can be as high as 1000 times more salt than what your pet needs in one day. The excess salt can cause high blood pressure and heart disease in animals. Epilepsy is now more common in dogs than in humans. Semi-moist pet food usually contain as much as 25% sugar which can come in many forms such as sucrose, corn syrup, beet pulp, and caramel to name a few. Other foods can contain up to 10% propylene glycol.
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