Raw Food Diets for Pets - Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and Public Health Agency of Canada Joint Position Statement Position: The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) believe that there is evidence of potential health risks for pets fed raw meat based diets, and for humans in contact with such pets. Currently there is little scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of these diets. However, the documented scientific evidence of potential animal and public health risks in feeding raw meats outweigh any perceived benefits of this feeding practice. If veterinarians do recommend raw meat diets for pets under their care they should be aware of potential liability concerns should a pet or in-contact human become ill due to pathogens originating in the diet. Veterinarians recommending raw food diets must inform pet owners of potential risks, and should educate the owners on how to mitigate risks of pathogen exposure in both handling the food and in managing pets consuming raw meat diets. It is also important for veterinarians to emphasize that there is a higher risk of human infections if pets on these diets are being used to visit human hospitals for therapeutic reasons, or if pets are fed in households with people who have compromised immune function, or where there are very young children that could come into direct contact with the food or with the feces of pets consuming raw foods. Background: Feeding pets raw meat based diets is a recent trend. Multiple benefits of feeding these diets are touted, but all are supported only by anecdotal reports. To date, no scientific evidence to support the efficacy or safety of these diets have been published. There are now multiple peer-reviewed studies documenting potential risks from bacterial pathogens present in raw meats for both pets fed these diets, and for in-contact humans. Studies have also proven that pets fed raw meats can shed potential bacterial pathogens in their stool thereby acting as a source of potentially significant zoonotic infections to in-contact humans. The public health risks of feeding raw food are magnified with evidence that bacterial pathogens in raw foods, and in the stool of pets fed raw foods have enhanced patterns of antimicrobial resistance. References: 1. Lejeune TJ, Hancock DD. Public Health Concerns Associated with Feeding Raw Meat Diets to Dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2001;219(9):1222-1225 2. Joffe DJ, Schlesinger DP. Preliminary Assessment of the Risk of Salmonella Infection in Dogs Fed Raw Chicken Diets. Can Vet J 2002;43(6):441-2 CVJ Jun 2002) 3. Murphy C, et al, ACVIM abstr 2005) 4. Weese JS, Rousseau J, Arroyo L. Bacterial Evaluation of Commercial Canine and Feline Raw Diets. Can Vet J 2005;46(6):513-516. 5. Finley R, Reid-Smith R, Weese JS. Human Health Implications of Salmonella-Contaminated Natural Pet Treats and Raw Pet Food. Clin Infect Dis 2006;42(5):686-91 6. Finley R, Ribble C, Aramini J, Vandermeer M, Popa M, Littman M, Reid-Smith R. The risk of salmonellae shedding by dogs fed Salmonella-contaminated commercial raw food diets. Can Vet J. Accepted for publication. 7. Finley RL. Salmonella in commercially available pig ear treats and raw food diets: prevalence survey and canine feeding trial. [MSc. Thesis]. Guelph, Ontario. University of Guelph, 2004. 8. Strohmeyer RA, Morley SP, Hyatt DR, Dargatz DA, Scorza AV, Lappin MR. Evaluation of Bacterial and Protozoal Contamination of Commercially Available Raw Meat Diets for Dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2006; 228 (4) 537-542. Adopted November 2006 [Posted in FML 7194]