Iams controversy

You can never tell how things will work.  For instance, a guy ran a red light and my husband broadsided him with his rig.  The guy suffered severe head injuries, etc (he was eating a donut when he ran the light.)  I think his wife was at a lawyer's before she even went to the hospital. 
 
There were witnesses who said the guy ran the red light, my husband was not at fautl.  BUT the wife and lawyers think big company, big bucks and sue for soemthing like $5.8 million.  It drug on for about a year and half and they settled out of court for a little over a  million. And you can bet the lawyer got the biggest chunk of that. Hubby was most upset that the company paid anything when it was the other guy's fault and the company said it was cheaper to settle out of court than to fight for years.
 
In another accident with his company, there was a power line down and a long line of traffic stopped.  The end vehicle was a lady driver who was bob tailing (no trailer).  A guy came flying along and ran into the back of  her tractor. .  He was killed.  His family sued both the trucking compnay and the electric company AND BOTH PAID  because it was cheaper to do that than to fight.  Also, even tho in both cases it was the other drivers fault, the company (and the electric company) didn't want all the publicity of a full blown trial.
 
So it makes sense that Iams would not sue a non profit organization as there would be no way they could collect anything and it would be costly to them and a lot of publicity, especially for "poor Peta being sued for ratting on the big bad company."

conducted? Do they maintain their own kennel or contract the feeding trials out to a laboratory to do it for them

  I was digging around the Chicken Soup site and couldn't find the information I was looking for, but it used to say on the site that they contracted another facility to do the feeding trials and the dogs spent some time outside daily for fresh air and exercise.
   I saw the PETA video a few months ago and it seems authentic to me and very troubling, especially the part where they removed muscle from the Beagle's legs.
 
 

The facility in the video was a contract facility not an IAM's facility, they hired the PETA person to ensure that the IAM's animals were being taken care of.  I read that many of the animals in the video were not part of the IAM's study but part of a study by drug companies. Since that incident, I believe they are  doing all of there feeding trials in house and no longer contract to other facilities.  I think that IAM's should have done a much better job of screening the contract facilities that they were using, and maybe a better job of screening employees that they hire, but I am not sure how you could figure out if someone was a member of PETA or not, If I remember correctly she had very good credentials a masters degree in some sort of animal studies.  I'm sure the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

Once your in, they brainwash you! Their are akin to a cult or terriorist organization. JMHO

lol..that's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard and it's a bunch of BS. I've been a PETA member for years. Obviously maybe  you've been  brainwashed by all the counter-activist propaganda.  " akin to a cult"... LMFAO...that's a good one. " a terrorist organization"..... even a better one.  Yeah... and so is the Humane Society. 

It's a shame that people can't just defend their positions without going on the attack......

When the Texas State Aquarium brought in a couple of dolphins, PETA showed up blocking the road, carrying signs about releasing the dolphins, etc and caused a big hassel for a couple of weeks before the dolphins arrived.  It so happened, neither of the dolphins were releaseable.  They would die if released.  They had never been on their own--I am thinking one was born in captivity and the other was a rescue orphan.  For the record I am very against capture of healthy dolphins, whales, seals, etc for show.  I am also against capture for circuses and even zoos unless it is an endangered animal and they are trying to make sure it doesn't go extinct, or they provide a very natural habit for it.
 
But that bunch insisting on those dolphins being released  was a farce.  Apparently they knew nothing about dolphin survival, etc or they would not have tried to stir the public up like that.  Up until that point I had supported PETA.  But after that, I decided some of the stuff I had read was probably true, so I turned my donations to other groups.

I guess every one is entitled to their own opinions []

The ASPCA checks up on IAMS regularly and have found nothing along the lines of torture or cruelty.
 
I don't feed IAMS simply because I think the ingredients suck.  >^^;<

There's also the simple fact that the govt. considers PETA a domestic terrorist org.

Folks, I realize that this is a public forum and that we are all entitled to our own opinions and to share our opinions, however, I'm thinking that in the interest of keeping the peace, maybe we should all just hold our opinions of PETA for now?

You're right. I should apologize for that.
 

Well this is what I think of them[:'(]. 

Glenda's right. An opinion of PETA, fact-based or otherwise, does not have a particular place in this thread about Iams research, especially when we have to words of Mic Foster from a previous thread. That thread was linked earlier in this thread. The thread has drifted from whether or not Iams conducts research that is abusive to animals to the validity or humaneness of PETA actions. And it will get de-railed further

Thank you Ron.

I was wondering how credible the PETA studies were although it is hard to deny the video evidence they present on their website after it is staring you in the face. (which by the way, was filled with tear stains!).

 
I think it is relevant that an opinion about PETA be expressed here, since the OP brought up the studies.  But, it probably shouldn't be in the context of whether you love PETA or hate them (the latter, for me).  What I think is very relevant, is that the most reliable evidence on any topic is usually the result of experimentation, research, or investigation by independent sources who have no particular axe to grind, and are interested simply in seeking truth or information that is credible.  In that context, while I don't know who our government thinks are domestic terrorists, I do feel that PETA is a biased organization, and therefore their studies or "evidence" (videos can be staged) are suspect.
Personally, I do not feed Iams products to my dogs, mainly because I don't care for the ingredients versus the ingredients in what I perceive as better foods.  But, it certainly isn't because I would ever take the word of an organization whose tenets are extremist at best.