People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals recently awarded grants of $1,500 to 15 animal shelters around the country. What did these shelters have to do to be recipients of PETA’s largesse? They each are boycotting Iams pet food because of PETA’s allegations that Iams relies on “painful and often deadly laboratory tests on dogs, cats, and other animals.”
PETA’s Mary Beth Sweetland told The Lake City Report (Florida),
Nearly 100 shelters have decided to boycott Iams after learning about the company’s cruel and unnecessary tests on animals. Iams uses its profits to create misery for dogs and cats, but these shelters need funds for their vital work of protecting animals from harm.
Iams spokesman Kurt Iverson responded by saying that PETA is,
. . . spreading a lot of untruths and sensationalized stories. The story that they are telling is based on a facility we used two years ago and that we no longer use. They also don’t tell you that the person that was gathering their video footage was the person Iams was paying to take care of those dogs and cats.
Source:
PETA donates $1,500 to local animal shelter. Justin Lang, Lake City Reporter (Florida), January 27, 2005.