Our Pets are still dying from treats made in China.

Even though it has pretty much died out of the news for the moment, it is still important to be sure that any treats you buy for your pets are not only made here in the United States, but also come from ingredients from here.
Just looking on the label to make sure that it doesn't say "made in China" won't protect you from getting dangerous pet treats. We import so many things from China that can be purchased right here in the US, that even though the treats may be actually made and marketed here; they may come from tainted pork (chicken, duck, etc,) that comes from China.
This is happening with the food that we eat also. We have catfish farms all over here in the southern US, yet some of the catfish sold at the supermarket is imported from China or Taiwan.

I would not feed any pet food that has pork in it right now, regardless of where it comes from ! Pigs are dying like crazy in china, and now we have the same thing happening right here in America. It is a disease that is always fatal, but there is no cure for it. Pictures of dead pigs floating down the rivers in China are all over the internet. (gross, don't look if you are squeamish)

http://www.petmd.com/news/alerts-recalls...robe-30982

Talking about pigs raised in China, I have heard about the term "lean meat powder". It is a chemical some pig farmers use to feed their pigs to make them grow more lean meat instead of grow fat. It is harmful to both the pigs and the humans who consume them later. Yes, it is illegal there but the lack of enforcement makes many laws useless in China.

Farm raised fish are usually less safe than the wild caught ones. As a fish keeper, I know so many chemicals (water conditioner, some fish meds, etc.) we often use in our aquariums have the labels of "not meant for fish raised for human consumption". In a money driving society, many fish farm owners could care less about these restrictions and all they want is to have the fish stay alive before they sell them. As for wild fish, I try to avoid the freshwater fish which are more likely from polluted water than the fish from ocean.

It is hard to check the source of ingredients. You might not even get the answer if you can contact the manufacturer.

Thor, you are so absolutely right about the pigs being fed chemicals or hormones that are bad for both people and for our pets. And the fish farms are unbelievably disgusting ! ! I am not even going to post some of the terrible pictures that are on the internet about the fish, and the rivers, in China. But there are pictures of fish farms and the fish are floating on top, they have to be either dead, or dying.
And the rivers there are polluted from the dead pigs that they throw into the water to float out to sea, or wherever they go.
Truthfully, our food here is raised with way too many growth hormones, antibiotics, and other medications given to the food animals. Then we eat the meat, and get whatever is in it. Not good ! !

http://www.businessinsider.com/disgustin...re-2012-10

I agree! I always try to read the labels and make sure my dog treats were not made in China. I've even resorted to making my own dogs treats at home. They actually turned out really good and there are a million recipes online. Just a though, but yes I try to stay away from the treats made in China. You just never know what they're going to put in their food.

Making food for both ourselves and our pets is actually about the only way that we can be sure that the food is safe nowdays, and I agree with you that it is better to make the pet treats at home, too. I always feed leftovers to my dogs, and they consider that a treat, since they get different things each day.
When I put the dogs in their beds at night, I always give them a bedtime snack, which is often a bite of a hot dog, or a bit of cheese or lunchmeat. Even though this is not home made, it is made for human consumption, so I assume that it should be safe for my dog to eat some as well.
I don't really ever buy any of the little dog treats that come in bags, so I don't have to worry about getting something that might be made in China, and hurt them.

It makes me wonder how long ago did this start occurring. I mean, we're hearing about it and seeing a vast amount of change in China because of this disease, but what scares me more and more is wondering when it first started. Were pigs dying a little bit in the past and now they are realizing that there's a big poison mistake now? Because now there's a vast majority dying and their business (perhaps) is going down, that they need to express it? It's scary.

Also, it's nice to have that comfort to know that all products that say 'Made in China' are bad and should not be bought. I would, however, ask everyone to do research on a product that says differently such as 'Made in America' or 'Made in UK' and so forth. Why? Although the factories were made in these countries, sometimes products or ingredients are bought elsewhere and it may be from China itself. I would recommend doing research on where certain countries get their ingredients from. If it's not listed anywhere on the internet, then call them. They have to give you the information; especially with what's going on right now.

We are having a lot of recall of products made right here in America, as well. it was not long ago that over a million lbs of beef was recalled for (I think)e-coli contamination, but a lot of it had gone to restaurants around the country and ben sold already. Now they are thinking that this may bee part of the reason for a new disease that is destroying peoples kidneys.
So, the kidneys is a large part of what is happening to the dogs when they get sick and die. This makes me wonder if the two things are related. Some of the meat scraps that wasn't sent to stores or restaurants, may have been sold to dog food processing companies, and could easily be in the dog food that we buy, and coms from right here in the United States.
Contaminated food has gotten to be a serious issue, for both humans and our pets, regardless of where the food originates from.

Hubby was telling me that Petsmart has declined to sell treats from China recently due to the overwhelmingly popular question as to are your treats made in China, and all the customers emphatically saying we are not buying them if they are!

Both Petsmart and Petco have said they will not be selling all China made treats by March of 2015. YAY! About time!

I don't know if I can post a link but it's right there in the ixquick search engine from a USA Today news article. Woo hoo, good start.

I was reading an article about the drugs we are giving the livestock that is raised as food, and I think this is the same one that Thor was referring to in his post earlier.
This stuff is supposed to make the animals grow faster, and have leaner meat. It is given to beef, prok, and turkey, most of which is also used in some brands of dog food. The drug causes heart problems in the animals they give it to, as well as the people or pets that eat the meat. In one test with humans, one person out of six that were tested had to be taken out of the program because it caused an abnormal heart rhythm. Not only that, but the animals become more violent and apt to attack the people who are raising them. They cannot take any kind of stress when they are given this drug, and apparently the pigs will actually turn purple, and die from a heart attack on the spot when stressed. Veterinarians are saying that this drug kills more animals than anything else does.
It is banned in most other countries, even Russia and China; and now some countries are not even allowing US meat to be imported into the country if it has been given this drug.
If it is that dangerous, it has gor to be affecting our pets that eat food with this drug in it as well ! !

http://www.all-creatures.org/health/additive.html

Right before Christmas this last year, I was out getting "Stocking Stuffers" for my 4 legged kids and their friends. I stopped at the Dollar Tree and was checking out their pet treats. I am always careful not to buy anything that comes from China. Needles to say, I didn't have much in my cart.

I picked up a bag of rawhide chews, there were 4 nice size ones in the bag for a buck. I thought this will be good for my friend that lives across the street. So I bought it.

A few days later, when wrapping presents, I looked closer at the rawhide chews, they had an american flag on the bag, probably why I thought they were safe to buy. I read closer, they were from China and even had a warning, "not for human consumption" ~ also that they contained something that was spelled like radiation, but different. Needless to say.. They went into the garbage!

Thank you very much for sharing the article. My aunt owned a beagle and a poodle two years ago. They are very spoiled, and they would always get treats from my aunt and even the relatives when they are visiting. One day, our aunt called us and she was really devastated because the beagle, Brutus, suddenly became lethargic. They took him to the vet, and the vet told them that the dog has urinary problems. They didn't know the reason why because they always buy high-quality dog foods. When the vet asked them to list down all the foods that Brutus might have ingested, they realized that the treats they are giving him are mostly made in China.

Brutus survived, but now treats that are from China are banned at their home. I am not bashing the quality of products produced by China, but it's just alarming that the pet food coming from there are often laced with harmful chemicals. I no longer buy treats, either for my cats or dogs, if I found out that it is produced there.