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| Nothing short of abuse... |
It now official our nations pets, mans best friend among them
are suffering the same plight as 25% of our children and 60% of the adult
population. The shocking news revealed in a new report concludes twelve million
UK pets are being fed too many 'treats', including takeaways, cheese, crisps
and cakes, often on a daily basis, which is fuelling the UK pet obesity
epidemic. These are just some of the frightening findings of the biggest
national pethealth report conducted by
leading veterinary charity, PDSA.
What is even more concerning, according to
the animal health and welfare charity, is that:
50% of owners say they think
'treats' make their pet happy with just 2% confessing to feeling any guilt
about feeding naughty treats. And with just one cube of cheese given to a
medium sized dog the equivalent of us eating four shortbread biscuits, half a
Margherita pizza, or one and a half burgers. -PDSA
Sound
familiar? yes of course it does, it's exactly what's happening every second of
every day in every home with our children and loved ones.
In
response to these worrying statistics, PDSA is launching its annual search to
find the UK
So what's the present situation for our pets? The following summary released by the PDSA summaries the current situation in Britain:
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| Cats...nimble & agile predators? |
Dogs, just over six million of them, are fed
the greatest amount of junk food with 90% of dog owners admitting that cheese, toast, crisps, biscuits, takeaways,
cakes and other fatty treats form part of their doggy’s diets. Cats have the
second worst meal plans with 43% being given fatty treats (over five million).
Rabbits have the least amount of junk foods (26%) but even so, this still
equates to over 430,000 bunnies eating a diet that includes toast, biscuits,
cake, cheese and crisps - a far cry from the hay, fresh greens and rabbit
nuggets that they should consume. Rabbit
Nuggets? well not sure about that one!
The
groundbreaking PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report, the largest of its kind ever
to assess and measure the health and welfare standards of dogs, cats and
rabbits, was produced in conjunction with YouGov and involved 11,000 pet
owners. The Report lifts the lid on all aspects of pet wellbeing, and when it
comes to what our pets are eating, millions of pets are set to develop obesity
related, life-threatening illnesses if their diets don’t improve.
29%
of owners admit to feeding 'treats', often on a daily basis, which suggests pet
waistlines are set to continue to expand. Dog obesity levels are now higher
than human obesity figures.
So what
are they going to do about it?
Although the initial report and findings are to
be commended, the proposed follow up action by the PDSA has a familiar ring
founded in that old myth calories in calories out. The dietary advice for dogs
for example on the PDSA website is:
Feeding a complete, commercial dog food is normally preferable to a homemade diet. It’s not easy to achieve the correct balance of nutrients if you make your dog’s diet yourself. Most dog foods these days are complete, meaning they contain all the nutrients that a dog needs, in the right amounts. If extra food is given, as treats, your dog must do something with the extra calories. If your dog isn’t being exercised enough, the calories will be turned into fat. The only time you should really give food treats is when you are training your dog using rewards (please visit our puppy and dog behaviour section for more information). If your reward is a food treat, try to use something healthy such as small slices of carrot. However, if your dog is only interested in less healthy food, such as small pieces of sausage, reduce the amount of food given in the main meal so that there aren’t too many calories on training days.
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| Dinner Time! Puppies tuck in to real food. |
The sad
fact is that nothing will change here, nothing at all, until such time as we address the root cause of the issue.
The bottom line is, Pets regardless of species are no different in their dietary requirements to that of us human kinds (Omnivores).
That is we are all designed to thrive on naturally available foods specific to our genetic group. Yes Rabbits eat grass, leaves, roots...er nuggets? No, they're herbivores silly!
Dogs and Cats on the other hand are carnivores. Although we like to think they are like us, it's without doubt they are indeed meat eaters, look at the skeletal and dental evidence. So what about artificially manufactured pet foods? These are good yes? Well, what do you think? click this link to find out what's in Dog food as an example.
The bottom line is, Pets regardless of species are no different in their dietary requirements to that of us human kinds (Omnivores).
That is we are all designed to thrive on naturally available foods specific to our genetic group. Yes Rabbits eat grass, leaves, roots...er nuggets? No, they're herbivores silly!
Dogs and Cats on the other hand are carnivores. Although we like to think they are like us, it's without doubt they are indeed meat eaters, look at the skeletal and dental evidence. So what about artificially manufactured pet foods? These are good yes? Well, what do you think? click this link to find out what's in Dog food as an example.
The fact is all
animals including people can only thrive on the specific foods their anatomies
are genetically designed to process and recognise. You may think manufactured
alternatives look great and taste great, but it's not food (hence obesity and
generative disease epidemics )and actually it doesn't taste great
it's the sugar rush your feeling (click link to watch video).
There are several issues here, ignorance, social, environmental,
psychological, commercial,economical and at the heart political. But these
of course are not excuses. One thing however is totally clear, almost all, from
the government down to the dog walker in the street needs to unlearn everything
they thought they knew about diet and nutrition.
It's high time we all woke up. Pets, people and every living
creature alike need Real Food.
Sadly if you sit
around waiting for something to change, history shows us it's just not
going to.
This is a bottom up event, a food revolution... though it's not going to be easy, however we suggest before you show the white flag, you may want to give it serious consideration.
Afterall..
Your very existence (and theirs) may
well depend on it.
Related articles
- Millions
of fat pets spark animal obesity epidemic after being fed treats (mirror.co.uk)
- Britain's
pets are too podgy, charity warns (independent.co.uk)
- One
third of pets may be overweight, say vets (money.marksandspencer.com)
- PDSA
to open fat clinics for obese pets (money.marksandspencer.com)
- Hogging The Limelight
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