2007-03-30 00:21:02 -

WASHINGTON, March 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the FDA now confirming that consumers suspect dry pet food may have sickened or killed their companion animals, PETA will hold an emergency news conference on Friday and call on the FDA to immediately expand the pet food recall to include all dry varieties subject to complaints until they are chemically tested for safety. PETA will also ask the FDA to investigate Iams in order to find out if the company knew about the contaminated food before calling for a recall. Pennsylvania resident

Yvette Faulkner - whose cat Sassafras suffered kidney failure and had to be euthanized and who states that Sassafras ate only Iams' dry food - will speak at the news conference.

Date: Friday, March 30 Time: 12 noon Place: National Press Club, 529 14th St. N.W., Murrow Room

PETA will also explain its call for an investigation into whether Iams may have known about the contaminated food. Reports indicate that Menu Foods, Iams' manufacturer, may have known about the contaminated food as early as February 20. The recall did not go into effect until March 16.

Iams has a history of causing animal suffering. During a 2002 to 2003 undercover investigation of an animal-testing laboratory contracted by Iams, a PETA investigator documented that terrified animals were confined to cramped, unsanitary cages in dilapidated rooms; that dogs had chunks of muscle cut from their thighs; and other acts of cruelty. The investigator also documented that at least 27 dogs were deliberately killed. An ensuing investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed many of PETA's findings and resulted in the issue of 40 violations of the Animal Welfare Act. PETA will show video footage of its investigation at the news conference.

"Nearly a month elapsed between the first reports of illness and death from contaminated products and the recall-time during which countless cats and dogs may have been sickened and died," says PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich. "We're calling on Iams and other companies not to gamble with animals' lives and to recall all dry food products that are the subject of complaints immediately."

For more information and to see a list of dog and cat food manufacturers that don't test on animals, please visit PETA's Web site http://www.peta.org/.

Contact: Bruce Friedrich 757-943-7450 (cell)

Holly Mattern 757-622-7382, ext. 8340; HollyM@peta.org

Source: PETA