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World
Apr 10, 2010

Junk food killing pets

PARIS - THE junk food and poor eating habits affecting humans is also killing their four-legged pals, say veterinary surgeons and experts. Allergies and obesity are reducing the life expectancy of Lassies and Mittens nourished worldwide on industrial foodstuffs, said Gerard Lippert, a Belgian acupuncturist for animals who has just completed a study on the diets of 600 dead dogs.

'Pets, like humans, are victims of junk food,' he told AFP. Of the 600 furry corpses he examined 'those fed on processed foods died three years earlier than those fed on food made in the home.' Dogs, he added, 'originally were omnivores who shared their food with humans.' Mr Rippert said he was increasingly called on to heal skin, motor and digestive problems as acupuncture was an all-embracing method enabling work on practically all organs.

'Dry dog food and cat food croquettes are over-heated, which destroys vitamins, trace elements and other basic nutritional elements,' he said.
'We don't know the origin of the proteins in the foods,' he added. 'And there's an excessive amount of cereal, often genetically modified, and very little vegetables.' 'We're turning our dogs and cats into ruminants,' he said. -- AFP