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Iams

Rattled IAMS Play Dirty

The IAMS/Eukanuba pet food company has enlisted the support of the American Kennel Club (AKC) in its propaganda war to discredit revelations of cruel and lethal animal tests that it has carried out in research for its products.

A statement (see below) issued by the AKC on behalf of IAMS smears Uncaged Campaigns, an avowedly law-abiding and peaceful campaign group, as "extremist" and calls the Sunday Express articles "unsubstantiated".

The articles are, in fact, entirely true and are based on 24 papers published in scientific journals describing vivisection studies funded or part-funded by IAMS and participated in by IAMS researchers (see www.uncaged.co.uk/iams.htm).

The AKC receives sponsorship money from IAMS. (See details of the AKC/Eukanuba American Dog Classic, December 12, 2001 in Orlando, Florida - www.akc.org/dic/classic/classic.cfm. IAMS have a representative - Keith Kort - on the show committee). The UK Kennel Club is currently considering its position following a constructive meeting with Uncaged Campaign at Crufts.

The Iams Company was bought by Procter & Gamble (P&G) in September 1999. The news arrives on the day that Gary Cunningham, P&G's Director of UK Corporate Affairs, telephoned Uncaged Campaigns out of the blue to try to broker a deal to stop the campaign against IAMS. Mr Cunningham asked Dan Lyons, Uncaged Campaigns' Director, what actions IAMS could take in order to resolve the dispute. Mr Lyons replied that our position, as stated on our website (www.uncaged.co.uk/iams.htm) was clear - while IAMS continues to perform painful and harmful experiments on animals we would continue informing the public about this fact and leave it up to them to vote with their purses. Mr Cunningham replied that this was "a long way" from IAMS current position and practice, and that he was searching for a way around the "impasse". We restated our position that we are merely conveying the facts to the public. If IAMS wants to regain some credibility and respect it simply has to stop the practices that the public find abhorrent - i.e. it's cruelty to animals. Mr Cunningham didn't appear confident that IAMS were prepared to do this.

Obviously, this telephone call is highly significant both in terms of
revealing how worried IAMS & P&G are, as well as re-confirming our central objection that IAMS has dishonestly tried to deny - that they have conducted cruel experiments on animals. Mr Lyons also objected in unequivocal terms to the dishonest, unfair and defamatory public statements made by IAMS and the American Kennel Club regarding Uncaged Campaigns and the Sunday Express articles. He urged Mr Cunningham to ensure, as a matter of basic decency, that IAMS should stick to the truth in its statements. We await a response.

AKC Statement Regarding the IAMS Company

Statement from Alfred Cheauré, President and CEO, The American Kennel Club

On May 27, a British tabloid paper ran an article making inflammatory and disparaging allegations against the Iams Company. The unsubstantiated piece was apparently sparked by a British animal extremist group that in the past has promoted boycotts against Procter and Gamble, Iams parent company. AKC accepts the Iams Company response to these allegations posted on their web site and we support the Iams Company. Throughout our association with Iams we have found them to be committed to the betterment of dogs and responsible dog ownership, two goals the AKC shares.

The American Kennel Club, founded in 1884, has dedicated itself to the advancement of dogs. Since that time, revolutionary advances have been made in veterinary medicine and canine nutrition. We know that many of these life-saving, life-enhancing and life-lengthening advances occurred as a direct result of research using animals. Had such research not been conducted, many of the vaccines, antibiotics, surgical procedures and common treatments available today would not have been developed and many of our dogs might still be dying from rabies, distemper, parvo and many other diseases that are now treatable. We are indebted to research scientists for the contributions they have made to the quality of our dogs' lives and we support them as they continue seeking new cures.

[The AKC can be contacted on either 919 816 3573 (main office) or 919 852 3821 / 212 696 8343 (both communications department numbers).]

Related Links

• IAMS index
• IAMS exposé
• Global Boycott P&G
• Support for the campaign
• Pet food information sheet

Uncaged Campaigns 07.06.01

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