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October 7, 2004
Iams Division to Change Testing Practices
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CINCINNATI (AP) -- The Procter & Gamble Co.'s Iams pet-food division said Thursday it is phasing out its animal-testing contracts with outside laboratories and universities, while more than doubling the capacity of its in-house testing facilities -- a move expected to give the company more control over the way animals are treated.

The announcement came the week before P&G's annual meeting, at which animal rights group PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has proposed a resolution calling on Iams to end contracts with outside laboratories and to end all testing on animals in company laboratories.

P&G is recommending that shareholders vote against PETA's proposal. The company said it strives to be a leader in pet welfare programs.

As part of the plan announced Thursday, P&G hopes within two years to limit its testing to dogs and cats that live in homes, its own facility or animal shelters.

Consolidating the studies will give Iams complete control over the care given to the dogs and cats, Iams spokesman Kurt Iverson said.

``We've been evolving in this direction because of some of those advantages we can gain from in-house studies,'' said Dr. Dan Carey, a veterinarian and director of technical communications at the company's Lewisburg research center.

Iams keeps about 350 dogs and cats in its complex at Lewisburg, about 25 miles west of Iams' Dayton headquarters. The animals are tested for their reaction to the dog and cat foods that Iams makes.

``Yes, this is part of what PETA wants,'' said Mary Beth Sweetland, senior vice president of research and investigations at PETA. ``The question is, is Iams going to commit to ending testing on all animals? The expansion of that Dayton facility means more testing.''

PETA activists allege that a lab doing studies for Iams has failed to provide proper housing, exercise and ventilation for animals, killed dogs for experiments and sometimes severed dogs' vocal cords to prevent barking. P&G denies those allegations.

P&G bought Iams in 1999 but has been dealing with animal-rights activists for years before that. The company says it has spent more than $187 million in the last two decades to find alternatives to animal testing in businesses ranging from pet food to cosmetics.