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Raw Feeding

Thoughts on Raw feeding

Our thoughts on RAW Feeding

  • We want you to enjoy happy healthy pets. We also want you to be safe doing so
  • We know you want the very best for your pets. We do understand the appeal of the claims made by those advocating and selling RAW diets: we want you to have the facts to allow an informed choice regarding those claims, and to understand the risks that may be associated
  • We have tried to be unbiased and to base all our thoughts and decisions on science and fact, not theory and wishful thinking. We are very happy to discuss the issues with clients who may be considering feeding RAW to their dog or cat

There are risks to your pet and to the humans in contact i.e. the person/s preparing the food, the person/s handling the food bowls and working in the food prep area, and any person (including our staff) who handle the pet who is fed on the RAW diet.

Our conclusion after careful thought and research:

There is no current evidence that feeding a raw diet compared to a cooked diet (commercial or home-cooked) provides any health benefit to dogs or cats, and there is a large and growing body of evidence that the practice can be harmful to both animals and humans, including the risk of death due to contraction of infectious diseases usually prevented via cooking.

Most major veterinary organisations recommend against raw feeding, including the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Animal Hospital Association and Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. For these reasons, our position is that feeding raw diets should not be encouraged.

Where owners wish to feed raw diet against our advice, the owners should be aware of the risks, particularly the zoonotic risks, and we will need to know the pet is raw fed so that we can note that fact in the clinical records. This warning in the clinical records will help us keep our staff safe if the pet is in clinic or has to be hospitalised, when we will need take extra health precautions, including limiting contact by any member of staff who may be immunocompromised or expecting.

The risks to the animal include Salmonellosis, Campylobacteriosis, Acute Polyradiculoneuritis, tooth fractures and foreign body obstructions (where whole bones are being fed). The risks to humans include Salmonellosis, E.coli (which has one confirmed human death recorded already) and Campylobacteriosis, with the young, elderly and immunocompromised being particularly at risk, including risk of death.

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