The first Platinum member’s webinar of the year discussed the controversial subject of feeding raw food to pets. This is a topic which has become hotly debated both within and outside of the profession and can be an area of conflict between vets and some members of the pet owning population who whole heartedly believe in the benefits of raw feeding. In my experience, however, most of the discussions I have had with clients on this subject have been non-confrontational. Usually these are interested clients who are seeking my opinion and want to know if raw feeding is safe and healthier for their pet. Historically my approach to this conversation is to always state my concerns about the presence of pathogenic organisms which would usually be killed by the process of cooking alongside the risks of gastrointestinal obstruction and trauma when feeding bones.  After listening to Mike Davies B.Vet.Med CertVR CertSAO FRCVS discuss raw feeding in last week’s webinar, I now believe I need to be stronger in my condemnation of this practice and to really emphasize the potential risk raw feeding poses not only to dogs but humans as well.

This take home message really resonated when Mike showed a picture of a hospitalised child who was suffering from acute kidney failure after being exposed to Enterohaemorrhagic e.coli. There was no direct link in this case to a pet being fed a raw diet but given many types of pathogenic organisms including e.coli can be found in raw meat, could raw feeding be putting the health of families at increased risk of developing an infection related to one of these organisms? It is also not just the handling of the meat that could put humans at risk. Cats and dogs can also shed some of these pathogenic organisms into the environment despite in some cases being asymptomatic themselves and as we all know pets and children are not always the most hygienic creatures with cross contamination via the feacal-oral route being a very real possibility. The potential risk to humans should really come as no surprise to the veterinary profession, but Mike then delivered a statement which really made me sit bolt upright. The VDS now advise that if you recommend feeding raw and a person becomes ill as a direct result you would be legally liable. Clearly having a sick child or elderly person on your conscience would be bad enough but to combine this with the stress of being sued would be a scenario none of us should ever have to go through.

I will certainly be stepping up my my advice to clients about the potential risks raw feeding poses to any in contact humans but of course there will always be counter arguments. Mike explained that many raw advocates would state that the process of freezing raw food should kill the majority of pathogenic organisms. However, according to Mike, this is just not the case , with many pathogens not being killed by the freezing process. These include E.coli, Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Clostridia , Norovirus and Avian influenza.

The transmission of multi drug resistance bacteria between pets and humans is also a real concern with published studies demonstrating that feeding a raw meat diet to dogs was a risk factor associated with the carriage of E.coli resistant to antibiotics which are important for treating infections in both humans and dogs including third generation cephalosporins ( present in 31% of dogs on raw diets compared to 4% of dogs on cooled meat diets).

This webinar’s main focus was towards  raw feeding and it’s potential health risk to humans but Mike also turned his attention to busting some of the myths which state that feeding a raw diet is better for your pet. Given we should be relying on evidence based data only, to Mike’s knowledge there is absolutely no scientific published peer reviewed evidence to demonstrate that feeding raw to your pet will make them any healthier. In fact, it’s just more likely to increase their chances of developing nutritional inadequacies, gastrointestinal bone obstructions  and infection related diseases.

This was a fascinating webinar and loaded with studies and data which could be used to try and educate and persuade raw advocates that raw feeding is not the way forward. Feeding a raw diet has also become increasingly popular in the United States, so much so that some practices now actively ask clients on hospital admission if they are feeding a raw diet to their pet. If this is the case their pet will then  be placed in isolation  thereby posing less of  an infection risk to other hospitalised patients. Some vets in the United States are also asking clients feeding raw to sign a disclaimer stating that they have been advised against this form of feeding by their veterinary surgeon. The question has to be asked, given the rise in popularity of raw feeding in this country, should we also be taking the same steps as vets in the U.S? Are we also going to start encountering diseases within our pet population which we thought we had seen the back of decades ago such as DCM associated with taurine deficiency in cats and conditions associated with hypervitaminosis A? I really hope this will not be the case and after watching last week’s webinar led by Mike Davies I feel even more empowered to educate my clients about this emotive subject and hopefully lead them down the right path.