RFVS Environmental Statement

The Raw Feeding Veterinary Society fully acknowledges that there is concern about the potential for environmental impact from the growing number of consumers choosing species appropriate, quality, meat based diets for their pet dogs and cats.

Our primary focus as a Society is on education, and we include within this, education about the importance of selecting products from pet food manufacturers who carefully select raw materials from high welfare farms and abattoirs and who aspire to minimise their environmental impact by means of conserving resources at every stage of the manufacturing and distribution process.

RFVS extends its concern for the welfare of domestic pets to that of the domesticated livestock providing food for ourselves and our pets.

Part of our educational goal is to encourage people seeking to share their lives with a pet to carefully consider the needs of that pet. If they themselves make a lifestyle choice not to eat animal produce, we would encourage them to select a pet whose natural diet matches their own choice in preference to inflicting their choice on a meat eating pet to the detriment of that pet’s well being.

Another sensitive area requiring careful thought specifically relating to dogs is their size. Quite clearly, large dogs eat a lot. RFVS would encourage prospective pet owners to give thought to having fewer and smaller carnivorous pets in preference to compromising the well being of numerous or large pets for reasons of the cost of a species appropriate diet.

We wholeheartedly support the endeavours of VetSustain to reflect on all aspects of the veterinary profession’s impact on the environment through educating pet owners and farmers and increasingly seek to minimise any adverse impact of our Society on our environment.