Accidents can happen? If Champion were a baby food company, and there were sick and dead babies, would you have the same response? Are poisoned pets considered a lesser value of life than poisoned babies?

Okay, let's say it is an *accident*. And let's talk about democratic societies then. In a democratic society, if you have a car *accident* and injur or kill someone, you must pay the damages caused by the *accident*. You don't get to decide how much to pay, like Champion feels they have the right to. You must pay for all the damages caused by your *accident*.

Cross posted from one of the affected pet parent who's cat is paralyzed regarding the amount offered by Champion as compensation for their *accident*:

"I think the main issue we need to clearly get across to our overseas friends on the blogs/sites is that you don't automatically qualify for $2000. (this is Australian dollars).
If you only saw your vet twice say, at $50 each time that's $100.

Then if you spent $900 on a cage, incontinence sheets, acupuncture treatments from an animal chinese medicine practitioner that wasn't a vet, some physiotherapy sessions with a physiotherapist who was a practitioner for animals as well as humans that wasn't a vet, the most you would get is another $100

Then if you spent over 6 months say, $500 on supplements - MethylB12, antioxidants, the most you would get is another $100

So you could have spent $1500 and only be entitled to receive $300 under this pathetic fund.

NOT GOOD ENOUGH CHAMPION"

Gee, I hope this attitude doesn't catch on. I can just see criminals standing up in front of a judge saying "but it was an accident and I shouldn't be held responsible".

Ignorance is no defense for negligence and Champion must know this.
If they ought to have reasonably known that the food would have been irradiated and that such a process would result in what we've seen then they have been negligent (and certainly in the UK liable for ALL costs resulting from their actions).
If they've been as careless as they appear in Australia not researching the processes and not ensuring that the food reaching their customers is safe how can we in the UK trust them?
How do we know that somewhere along the line a problem isn't going to crop up with the new fish because they've not done appropriate testing etc....

I feel so desperately sorry for those in Australia whose kitties have been affected, they were only trying to give their cats what they believed to be the best only to be let down so badly.

I had fed orijen but was beginning to move away from dry food and the breaking of this story was the catalyst to remove it totally from my cats diets.

__________________

What does 'up to $2000' mean?

What if people have a record of vets bills and receipts related to their cats ill health that far excede this figure? What are you offer ing these poor owners in way of compensation not only for death and damage to their beloved cats but possible YEARS and years of bills related to the damage that has been caused?
There shouldn't be any cap on damages. If owners can submit receipts that prove they are still paying out for their cats' welfare and recovery subsequent to this contaminated food then Champion should still be reimbursing them, no matter how long for, or how much for.
Do you as a company not have liability insurance that cover for you for exactly this sort of claim?
Do you not have a moral responsibility to every owner of a cat that has survived?

__________________

I think you are placing words in my mouth. I never said any of this was ok, I said it was good that Orijen were trying to speak to the public and that they didn't do this all on purpose!

Not sure if you remember or know, but this is not the first time this has happened with pet food, or with any food or human used product. Do you remember the baby milk scare? Or the issues with Iams food years ago?

My saying accidents happen was not to give one an excuse to not do anything. It was more for you to hang on and tell them what you want and understand they did not do this all on purpose. No one is perfect and accidents will happen, it's how we deal with them that can change. I do agree setting a limit on the amount the affected receive for treatment is cheeky, but at the same time they are limited on how much they can pay out and be sure is actually caused from their food and not just an extension of a pets already acknowledged illness. They can only try, but I imagine with all the paper work and details of it all it will take time for all to be reimbursed. By saying they will pay so much who's to say that someone won't just write in and say their pets have been eating this food just to get their bills paid??

I am in no way saying any of this is OK! as it's not, but no one could have predicted it. What's done is do and obviously has happened for a reason, that we may be more cautious with our pet foods and that pet food companies should explore all possibilities or outcomes of their products and their entry into different countries quality control. Austrialia may also want to re think their entry requirements. If this has done this to pet food. What the hell has it done to the human food!!

I'm glad to see you further explained your original post. Yes, I remember the baby milk and Iams *scare*. Actually, it was poisoned foods that killed babies and pets, so much more than a scare. Do you remember or know of the pet food poisonings in the States in 2007? Estimates are between 100,000 and 250,000 dogs and cats killed by poisoned foods. My cat was one of the ones killed by the poisoned foods.

This is more than an accident with Champion, negligence is not an accident. Champion was advised by the Australian government to have their foods tested after the irradiation and they choose not to.

Why do think Champion is limited on how much they can pay out? Most certainly they have product liability insurance. If they can't afford to pay for the damages they caused, then they shouldn't be allowed to conduct business.

Why do you think people would fraudulently submit vet bills for reimbursement? The vet bills clearly have to indicate the cat was treated for specific symptoms, i.e, completely paralyzed. I don't think any vet is going to falsify documents so a patient can be reimbursed.

Unless we take to task every single pet food company (and human food company) that acts negligently by poisoning the food supply chain, there will never be any changes made.

We believed that - we believed we'd found a cat food that was more biologically appropriate than any other kibble. We trusted Orijen and bought their product.

Five whole months of sleepless nights caring for a very sick cat later I feel like my cat has been in a hit and run accident and Peter is virtually throwing a few bucks out of his fancy car and driving away.

Our cat improved for almost a month around January and then, heartbreakingly, the wobbly hind legs have returned - now with added incontinence. Our house, despite our best efforts, stinks and caring for a sick cat for this length of time is exhausting physically and mentally. And yet we have no idea if after five months our cat is still to decline further or improve. Even if she improves we have no way of knowing whether she won't relapse or if she will suffer long term from this poisoning or what the associated costs of that may be.

And for all this, the stress, the tears (check out the Youtube videos of Aussie Orijen cats if you want your heart broken for a while - but we have to live with this day to day) hours of lost work, the repeated trips to vets, the incontinence pads and towels - hey the list goes on.

For this we are offered an extremely conditional limit of $2000 and a cut off point in May.

Obviously Peter is a clairvoyant and knows our cats will all be better by then and our related expenses at an end.

Phew - that's a relief.

I don't wish to appear facetious or like I'm just whinging but if the fact we were trying to feed our cats the best possible food is the perfect dictionary definition of irony - then the above is a great example of how there ain't no justice in this world.

That's so sad and you are so right to be angry, I would be livid, and I would not rest until i had sought some revenge.
I wish you all the luck in the world at making WHOEVER is responsible for so many cat deaths and illnesses pay for what they have done.

Another irony we don't want revenge - we want to be treated fairly - we want fair compensation not a very limited compassion fund that in no way covers the costs we have incurred due to Champion failing to allow us to make an informed decision about their "biologically appropriate" food, ingestion of which caused significant health issues with our cats including paralysis and death.

Champion has set May as the limit for their "compassion" fund because no doubt they want this to be over and done with. How nice for them we live with this nightmare caused by their food day in day out and have done so since July 2008 and see no signs of it being over by May 2009. I don't know what Champion wants but we (affected cat owners) don't want cat owners being forced to PTS their loved companions because they can no longer afford the vet bills and ancilillary cost (and these may well be more than the vet bills for some owners) that seem endless and ongoing.

And it should be noted as is the case with Mongo's beautiful girl Melody these cats can start to get better and then relapse - we have had it happen too in a very extreme case with young Hali who nearly died when she relapsed - thank god for a wonderful vet who made herself available out of hours. And in the case of Hunter, a beautiful young Bengal, he did die. So don't go thinking because these cats are starting to get better this will soon be over it is certainly not something an affected cat owner can let themselves think.

The other thing we want from Champion is accurate information - they haven't even released their toxicology reports to owners and treating vets so we can be aware of what we are actually battling and potential issues with our cats in the future.

We have company representatives saying that Orijen foods have tested free to all toxins? From Clark Stride on 11/12/08 Itchmo "After testing for more than 180 toxins and chemical compounds, Michigan State University’s Veterinary Toxicologist has confirmed that ORIJEN cat foods sold in Australia are free of toxins. NO KNOWN TOXIC COMPOUNDS WERE FOUND."

When this was challenged by me on the Ichmo forums on the 19th Dec 2008this was clarified to:
"In the study at MSU done on our foods, there were a few compounds discovered. The summary from the veterinary toxicologist at MSU was that they did not find any chemical compounds that are known to cause neurotoxicity." by Clark Stride, a Champion rep, on Dec 22.

For those interested the Itchmo thread can be found here . Be warned it is 45 pages long currently - the references referred to and CLark Strides comments about BHA & BHT being "found" in the food are between pages 32 & 35.

It should also be noted that the "communication error" that caused owners to be notified by an "assessor" that the closing date for the fund was brought forward by 3mths to 28th Feb caused a huge amount of stress to owners. How could this error have occurred surely the assessor would have had to receive instructions in writing not by chinese whispers. And the timing could not have been better - our country was undergoing a huge National disaster with bushfires killing large numbers of people and destroying homes. One of the affected cat owners vet lost her home, her animals, her husband. Seriously Champion what are you people thinking????

And some one said this was an accident which bit - the failure to read an import permit and know what was going to happen to product as a condition of importation? the failure to investigate what irradiation meant for cats? the failure to label product as treated? the failure to ensure ingredient suppliers met standards when it came to what they fed animals that are going into product? the failure to have adequate inline testing to know there were BHA and BHT (and what else) in a biologically appropriate product? the failure to label bags as containing these products? the failure to release information that could potentially assist affected cats? affected cat owners having to inform retailers of the recall as they had not been notified? the "communication error" that brought forward the date for close of the compensation fund? Exactly which bit was the accident?

Jo

This is what Orijen pet food has done to our cats in Australia

Three cats have died of seizures, one of a spinal tumor. Fifteen have been euthanised and approximately 80 others have symptoms ranging from hind limb ataxia to full paralysis, spinal cord damage, brain damage and spasticity.

Upon entry into Australia, Orijen pet food was gamma irradiated. Amongst the mounds of paperwork needed to be signed in order to release a new product on the Australian market (import permit, export documentation, signed authorities to irradiate, accounts for irradiation treatment and arrangement of transportation of the goods to and from the irradiation facility) is the AQIS Authority to Treat Goods Document. This document states the amount of gamma irradiation that will be used, renders the goods safe for quarantine purposes ONLY and states that the owner/agent should make their own enquiries as to the suitability of this or other treatments for the end use of their goods. This form NEEDS to be signed prior to any treatment despite Champion petfoods (Manufacturers of Orijen and Acana) constantly claiming they knew nothing of this procedure and that the irradiation went ahead without anyones knowledge. We have enquired about this and find their claims to be untrue.

It is Champions responsibility to work with their importer to ensure the safety of their food, not just send it out and collect the cash. Peter Muhlenfeld (Champion Petfoods) said they made a mistake, indeed they did. According to AQIS they had the option of heat treatment or irradiation. Why would you choose irradiation over heat treatment when claiming to be a company who has our pets best interest at heart.

Champion appears to have done the right thing in carrying out testing on their food, but all we have found out from one of Champions representatives, Clark Stride on the Itchmo forum, is that BHA & BHT (preservatives) were found in Orijen kibble during the testing. We were told it came from a dried chicken product added to Orijen petfood. Quote from Champion’s website “…..world-class ingredients fished or raised within our region and delivered to our factory FRESH- never frozen and without preservatives- each day.” Another untrue claim it seems from Champion

Champion and their Nutritionist, who they refer to on many occasions, may not have found the studies linking irradiated pet food to neurological damage in cats, but given their specialty would or should have known about Vitamin depletion which results from gamma irradiation. A very well known fact. Champion claims to have researched once they apparently found out the petfood was being irradiated, yet Champion still insisted on selling their ‘Biologically appropriate’ food to the Australian market. Obviously more driven by money than for the welfare of our beloved animals. If our cats did not suffer from neurological damage, the long term effects of a diet depleted in Vitamins would have been catastrophic

Champion keeps trying to blame someone else. This is their third recall. The first to do with mad cow disease, the second was very large and sharp salmon bones in Orijen kibble and now us. When are they going to step up their quality control? Our pets lives are at stake.

We have also had two Champion representatives Clark Stride and Michelle contradict each other on forums about weather they new about the irradiation, how many shipments there were, test results, and announcements. Once we started questioning these contradictions they disappeared, we were ignored and our questions were left unanswered.

It took Champion 2 months after Australian vets had found the link to pull their product from our shelves. If they had acted promptly the number of cats suffering this horrid syndrome would have been far less as would the severity. Some pet suppliers were not told what the issue was and not all were told about the recall straight away and were still selling Orijen. How hard is it for Champion to contact all of their suppliers (given that there weren’t many) and let them know exactly what is going on. Because of Champions lack of urgency with announcing this recall people were still feeding this food for weeks after their announcement.

Champion have offered all affected cat owners a ‘Compassion Fund’ A limit of $2000AU per affected cat. This covers Veterinary bills only. We have sent champion many emails outlining what is involved to care for and treat our cats. We have broken it down to list most items with explanations of why these are needed. Items like antioxidants, supplements, laxatives, vitamins, animal pens, incontinence pads, soft bedding, larger & lower litter trays, kitty litter, shampoos/soaps, physio balls/slings, heavier water & food bowls, drinking fountains, barricades/plastic trellis, boarding costs, carpet shampoos, uric acid cleaners, acupuncture, physiotherapy, herbal remedies. The list goes on.
One such example from one of many emails to Champion.

I am sure you are aware that there are cats whose owners were left with no choice but to place them in animal pens to keep them safe while on their own. People work which means they can be out of their house for at least 8 hrs at a time. I do not understand why you feel it would be fine to leave these sick, disabled cats in their pens with no food or water for this period of time. Hence the need for heavier food and water bowls. I know of one owner who reported coming home from work to find that her beloved cat had not only knocked over both food and water bowls in the animal pen but had also defecated and urinated. There was an absolute mess as this poor cat was dragging herself around the pen. I am sure you can imagine that the food and water was now contaminated

Would you like to feed your pets food contaminated with their own faeces and urine? I am sure you wouldn't.

Another owner reported hearing a crash during the night and found that her cat had collapsed into her water bowl and broken it. So for hygiene and safety reasons reconsidering the need for heavier bowls is more appropriate in this situation.

There are many other explanations like the one above that have just been ignored by Champion. They came back with their pathetic offer of $1800AU for veterinary bills, $100AU for Supplements listed on their website and $100AU for animal pens, incontinence sheets and plastic syringes. All they have done is reduced the Veterinary bills by $200AU. The vets, although extremely helpful and doing the best they can, cannot offer a lot. The advice is feed them a high quality raw diet and give them time. So vet bills for most are not too high. What is costing an arm and a leg is all the other costs (not covered by Champions Compassion Fund). An animal pen is more than $100, incontinence sheets are costing up to $50/week and this can go on for months, but all they are allowing us to claim is $100AU. Basically you can spend $2000AU but only be able to claim $300AU. I am now hearing of owners struggling financially and wondering if they should make the decision to PTS because they can’t afford treatments that Champion will not cover.
Our emails are ignored, our questions go unanswered but Champion finds the time day after day to reach out to other countries to say how they regret the circumstances in Australia and really feel for us. They claim to care for animals and all have pets of their own but will not pay for what their negligence has caused.

There are also a few claims outside of Australia of people seeing the same symptoms with their cats. Champion has contacted 2 that I know of and have told them to retract their comments without making the moral decision to check if their claims are viable. That’s what I call putting animals first, sorry did I say animals, oops, I meant money.

Pet food companies need to take responsibility for their products and if nothing is done, we will see another recall like that of the 2007 menu foods recall that killed thousands of cats and dogs in US. I am not going to ask people to boycott this company but ask you to make an informed decision as to weather you would want to support a company that has in our case been negligent, rude and ignored us. Several statements from Champion regarding the Australian recalls do not match what our research has uncovered together with the misconceptions from Champion I have pointed out above. As the owner of two affected cats, I have experienced first hand the lack of consideration Champion is giving us and how looking after these poor affected cats totally takes over your life.

Lastly, Peter, I am asking you one last time to make the moral and humane decision to cover ALL of our costs incurred whilst nursing our sick and disabled cats hopefully back to health. Our beloved cats are in this situation due to your company’s negligence despite what you say. Your importer represents your product. Your product, your problem

PERMISSION TO CROSS POST ENTIRE POST ONLY

I have been doing some research to try and avenge my own personal concerns (I feed mine Orijen) and found out that irradiated food can be found in the UK, and it can be done as part of importation. From reading various sites it seemed to state this.

For Orijen - how many crates have been sent to the UK over what period of time?
How have you ensured these are not being irridiated.