But just because pet products and animal testing both involve animals, it doesn't mean they must be tied together. When we refer to animal testing in the pet food world, we're talking about laboratory animals being subjected to invasive tests. This is, I believe, what many animal testing advocates fail to recognize. Sadly, animal testing facilities often conduct unspeakably cruel and inhumane studies.
In this post, I'll list 35 cruelty-free pet food companies and give you options for dog food as well as cat food. But first, I want to tell you what animal testing for pet food involves.
Pet Food & Regulations
The thing is, nothing ever has to be tested on animals. Not even pet food.
Advancements in technology are allowing scientists to use microchips instead of animals to test drugs, questioning the necessity of any animal testing for any purpose.
But pet food is highly regulated in the US by the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Organization). In addition to the nutritional analysis, the food has to be fed to live animals. This is called a "feeding trial".
Feeding Trials In Laboratories
In 2003, an undercover PETA investigator filmed dreadful footage inside a feeding trial laboratory. The animal testing was commissioned by renowned industry giant Iams.
The footage shows sick, neglected suffering cats and dogs confined to small cages. Dogs were thrown on the floor after their vocal chords were cut off and their back-leg muscles removed. A dog was found dead, bleeding from his mouth in his cage. The footage also showed laboratory workers talking about a live cat that had been washed down the drain. (You can read the full story via Uncaged.)
Has anything changed since? Yes and no. Thankfully the conditions are better, which isn't to say they're ideal.
Companies To Avoid
The following pet food brands still conduct laboratory feeding trials and/or test on animals in other ways. They are not cruelty-free.
- Iams (owned by Procter & Gamble)
- Hill's Science Diet (owned by Colgate-Palmolive)
- Pedigree (owned by Mars)
- Purina (owned by Nestle)
- Friskies (owned by Nestle)
- Natural Balance
- Blue Buffalo
- Whiskas (owned by Mars)
- Eukanuba (owned by Mars) Sheba
- Bakers Complete (owned by Nestle)
Humane Feeding Trials
Today, some companies choose not to conduct feeding trials on laboratory animals. These companies provide cruelty-free dog and cat food. To be in compliance with the AAFCO, these smaller, alternative trials must adhere to the following rules:
- conducted on at least 8 healthy dogs, of at least 1 year old
- the trial must run for at least 26 weeks
- the dogs must only eat the trial food, and their daily consumption must be recorded
- the dogs' weight be tracked weekly and they must undergo blood tests throughout the trial
Since these trials are not performed on laboratory animals, they do not involve animal testing. Some companies' employees will sometimes volunteer their pets for feeding trials. The pets will be weighed daily, but there's otherwise no change of lifestyle involved.
Cruelty-Free Dog Food Options
The companies below don't use laboratory animals as part of their feeding trials. They only perform humane and non-invasive feeding trials. For cruelty-free dog food, try:
Cruelty-Free Cat Food Options
Cat lovers, I've got you covered as well! Please keep in mind that unlike dogs, cats can't thrive solely on a vegan diet. They require taurine, which can only be obtained from animal-based proteins. If you're choosing a vegan food for your cat, you might want to consider a taurine (or meat) supplement. Here are some cruelty-free cat food options:
35 Cruelty-Free Companies
Need more choices? I'm going to end this post with a list of pet food companies that don't test on animals.
- Almo Nature
- The Honest Kitchen
- Weruva
- Flinch River Ranch
- Halo, Purely For Pets
- Yarrah
- Solid Gold
- V-Dog
- Stella & Chewy's
- Nutri-Vet
- Burns
- Pooch & Mutt
- Fish4Dogs
- Happy Dog Food
- Holistic Blend
- Newman's Own Organics
- CaniSource
- Fromm Family Foods
- Pet Guard
- Feline's Pride
- Oma's Pride
- Dr. Harvey's
- Primal Pet Foods
- Dingonatura
- Dynamite Marketing
- Timberwolf Organics
- Artemis Pet Food
- Pet Chef Express
- PoshNosh
- Bravo Raw Diet
- Raw Advantage
- Azmira Holistic Animal Care
- Sojourner Farms
- Sauder Feeds
- Veterinary Nutritional Formula
- Wysong Professional Diets
Which Brands Are Cruelty-Free?
Download our list of 600+ verified cruelty-free brands straight to your device. Bring it with you everywhere you go, and never worry about supporting animal testing again. Click here to download
the only issue for me is that my cat is the fussiest eater. i’ve tried to feed it tons of different brands and every time we go back to purina fancyfeast because its all she will eat. also, i’ve never heard of any of these brands before, nor do i think i’ve seen them in the supermarket. i really don’t know what to do
If you would like to try new foods for your cat you can always go to Petco and try a few brands out. The great thing is you can return open bags of food in exchange for a different one. The open bag of food gets donated so it doesn’t go to waste and you don’t waste your money. They usually have someone who understands pet nutrition and can answer a lot of questions.
Hi, what about sanabelle cat food? It is manufactured by bosch tiernahrung.
And hier is their statement:
“No. Our standpoint on animal testing is clearly defined by our quality management handbook:
The developping of new products is based on projects which rest on a scientifically researched and recognised foundation. We are strictly against any kind of animal testing which majorly affects the life of animals or which is associated with any kind of pain or suffering. Therefore we judge all animal testings associated with torture and pain that recently became public news and in which sadly pet food companies had been involved also.
In our opinion, the tests, pain and suffering is in most cases in no relation to the results and consequences for which purpose the tests are taking place. Sometimes there is even an impression that tests are misused as a cover to promote marketing statements.
Of course, our products have to be “evaluated” through animals, in order to see the influence of e.g. new raw materials or a new manufacturing process on the quality of our products. Dogs and cats are living creatures, and reactions cannot be foretold. Therefore, when developping new products, there might be an acceptance test which only proves the acceptance and digestability of the food. The manners of intaking food, stool consistancy, fur quality and, if applicable, the over all development and condition of the animals is monitored by the pet owner. Those acceptance tests take place in either private house holds or in proper kennels and are administered exclusively by the owner himself. Since it’s in the best interest of the pet owner to keep inconveniences from his pet, the acceptance tests we use have nothing in common with animal testing.”
Thanks for all those helpful lists:)
It is very sad to get to know that we have to take care even with our pets food….
Unfortunately out of this list here in Austria i only found the happy cat, but they only sell here dry food.
Would be very helpful to get to know is there any more companies who do not test on animals but also available in the EU.
Thanks for ur help and infos
all animals raised on factory/conventional farms live tortured lives and their entire existence involves cruelty …. and almost all meats used as ingredients in pet foods are from factory/conventional farms …. but i think the article was referring to the pet foods being used in labs and tested on animals ….. sort of an inaccurate read … as the entire pet food industry is based on cruelty ….. they even use euthenized pets as ingredients ….. they have contracts and agreements at ‘kill’ animals shelters for this http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/rendered-products-in-pet-food/ …..
Agreed and they even use diseased animals that didn’t even make it to the slaughter line that can’t be used for human consumption!
I switched from blue buffalo to Solid Gold for my kitties because of this site. Thank you! Im tryi g very hard to change out all my products to cruelty free and mostly natural, i find this site to be very helpful as it can be a stuggle
Hi, just wanted to share my e-mail exchange with Victor Dog Foods, an affordable brand, with quality ingredients and great reviews. Does anyone else know anything about this company’s testing procedures? Or would you take this response as acceptable?
My initial inquiry asking if they tested on Laboratory animals got this response:
Greetings Sarah,
Thanks for your growing interest in Victor Super Premium Pet Foods. We Scientifically formulate our products without lab animal testing. We have enough faith in our products that we feed them to our own animals.
Thanks again The Victor Team
Further exchange ensued to garner more details:
Hi,
Thanks for the response, I’m glad to hear that your products are formulate without lab animal testing! I’m looking for the very best food for my dog as well as other animals. Would you be able to go into more detail on your product test process?
Thanks!
Sarah
–
We source the best quality ingredients from trusted producers. Most of our ingredients come from the USA. However, in certain circumstances some ingredients do come from another country (like lamb from New Zealand).
All Formulas are proudly made in the USA. Victor Dog Foods are free from Corn, Wheat, Soy and Gluten Free as well as all Processed Grain by-products. All Formulas Are Naturally formulated with Added Vitamins and Complex Minerals. All Victor foods are formulated with scientifically advanced ingredients from Alltech, ZinPro and Diamond V ; that work together to support excellent digestive and immune system health.
Each and every ingredient must meet our own high quality standards. Ingredients are tested upon arrival, samples are tested throughout production, and all pet food is tested before we release it for sale.
–
Thanks for the information. I guess the process I’m most interested is the last part when you say “all pet food is tested before we release it for sale”
What methods do you use for this testing?
Thanks! Sarah
–
This are chemical test.We check the finished product to make sure it meets our quality standard before we will release it for sale. If does not pass this test it is not released to be sold.
They’re not vegan, but they’re cruelty-free (which means not tested on animals if you look it up).
They don’t test. 🙂
Hi, does anyone know if the brand Addiction cruelty free?
Wow. Never thought about pet food being tested on animals. Will definitely make sure what I feed my pets in future is cruelty free. Do you know anything about Oxbow? I feed it to my rabbits, a quick google search seems to say its okay, but I trust you much more!
In addition to animal testing, there’s also the question of where and how the meat in the pet food is sourced. Are there any dog food companies that do not test on animals, and also have relatively cruelty free means of sourcing their meat? By “relatively cruelty free” I mean the cows/chickens do not live miserable lives in cramped, inhumane quarters and are killed in a manner that seeks to minimize pain and suffering as much as possible.
I’ve been thinking this same thing throughout the article as well… All of the regulations about the pet food industry aren’t as easy to understand as the cosmetic regulations, so I don’t know how to find it out myself
As far as I know, Natural Balance is cruelty free and they also donate money to local animal shelters.
Ok so after reading this article, I was wondering if the food I give to my dog is cruelty-free and I can’t found it.. I give Acana to my dog and when I look on google it’s the only part I can read :” Oct 22, 2015 – Pet food often involves painful animal testing on laboratory animals. … They are on PETA lists and Orijen & Acana are owned by CHAMPION … ” the link brought me here but I don’t see the answer.. Can you help me ? Is it cruelty-free food or no?
Are any of these available at petsmart/petco?
We have dogs with special dietary needs and love Merrick. I didn’t see them listed on either list. Do you have any information on them?
Unfortunately I have 2 diabetic cats and they’re on prescription diets, so I’m kind of screwed there.
S’okay, Alison. I’ve got an immunocompromised cat, and she’s on a prescription diet, too. You’re not alone.
I wanted to contact Merrick about their testing policy, since they were recently purchased by Purina. However, I have never contacted a non-beauty company before, and the various laws for the pet food industry seem a bit less straight forward than cosmetics. I was curious what the emails you sent contained. I want to ask in the most direct way.
Thanks!
Also would like to know what to ask for this! I came across a pet food site that donates pet food and helps animal shelters whenever you buy a bag (BOGO Bowl http://www.bogobowl.com/) but can’t find any information about testing. I’d like to keep supporting them but want to make sure they are in line with cruelty-free procedures.
Wondering if you know whether Authority cat food by Petsmart is cruelty-free? It’s a Petsmart only brand and I tried to do research to see if they are owned by a larger parent company, but couldn’t find anything. Thanks.
Look for the fine print near the ingredients where it says how it meets nutritional requirements. If it says “…is formulated to meet nutritional requirements…” it is not animal tested; if it says “Animal feeding tests have determined…” (or something like that, it is cruelly lab animal tested. Authority is one that still does it the old, sadistic way.
if the fine print says it was conceived or developed instead of formulated and has a symbol that says “regularly controled by laboratory tests”…does that mean it’s cruelty free? i wanna see if the brand i use for my dog is cruelty free
Can anyone find out if Petsmart carries a cruelty free brand of cat food? I’ve been researching but I’ve come up with very little so far.
Hello, Suzy! Found another petfood company: http://www.brit-petfood.com/about-us/company-profile/ Can we trust them?
i suggest another cruelty free company: Nova Foods http://www.novafoods.com all their brands are cruelty free! 😀
Thank you so much for this post. I believe that LILY’S KITCHEN – APPLAWS – ACANA – ORIJEN are also cruelty free. They are on PETA lists and Orijen & Acana are owned by CHAMPION PETFOODS who confirmed to me that they do not test on animals but rather have their pets do the food test trials.
I’m so relieved. I was just trying to find out the status on Orijen. You just made me a very happy cat lady. 🙂
You’re very welcome 🙂 I should mention though that all those foods are not cruelty free. They may not be tested on animals but they’re still not cruelty free. The animals that have to die for pet food still have to go through slaughter and terror and torture their whole lives. At least, if you can choose not tested, it’s one less horror in the world 🙂
Good to know! I stopped feeding dry Blue Buffalo to my cats quite a while ago. They now eat Orijen. For wet food they eat Halo and Nutro. I’d be interested in finding out whether those brands are cruelty free as well. What are your thoughts on how to phrase questions when I inquire about it?
I’d like to stress the necessity of meat in a cat’s diet. Gluten free foods are perfect for them, but I’d try to shy away from any vegan options for cats. Dogs, on the other hand, can safely be vegan if absolutely necessary. I’m a vegetarian myself (future vegan), but I can’t deny my cats and foster cats what they need to survive and thrive. Thank you for sharing this, Suzi! I’m happy that our Fromm (from Wisconsin) is cruelty free! Everyone adores it and it’s healthy for them!
Thanks Chelsie! 🙂
Even if you’re vegan, you shouldn’t force veganism on your pets, a dogs natural diet is to eat meat, so you’re ripping away part of it’s natural diet by making it vegan!
Thank you. My sister fed her cat a vegan diet for the last 7 years and now the cat is dying from kidney failure. She is only 8 years old. I am so angry at my sister for this.
I’m not familiar with this company, but I couldn’t find anything stating they don’t test on animals. Definitely contact them to verify.
I contacted them and here is their response:
Dear Lynette,
Thank you for your inquiry.
We would like to assure you our commitment to animals includes superior nutrition and the humane treatment of the animals involved in any necessary feeding trials. In order to ensure the safest and most nutritional food possible, our formulas are analyzed for nutritional content. The USDA regulates facilities used for this testing and we choose them based on their reputation and dedication to nutritional research and animal care.
Sincerely,
April
Product Specialist
kind of ambiguous! i think i might be finding a new pet food! that stuff isnt cheap either, but I thought it would be better for my dog. i try to not buy any cruel products. If they cant give me a definite answer it is just as bad as saying they participate in testing.
Sounds to me like they do test on lab animals, sadly. “Facilities” would mean laboratories.
Thank you for this! I have a couple of questions. Do all the companies listed as testing on animals actually do lab feeding trials, or are some included because their parent company tests other products on animals? I’m also interested in how to find out whether a company who’s not on these lists tests on animals? For instance, Nutro, Merrick, and Rachel Ray’s Nutrish. Thanks!
Hi Kitty! Yes, all companies mentioned here test on animals themselves (as opposed to their parent company) as far as I know. From my research, I couldn’t find any evidence supporting that Rachel Ray’s brand is cruelty-free. I haven’t looked into the other ones, but I’ll do my best!
Merrick is owned by Purina and Nutro is owned by Mars Corp. so I wouldn’t trust either one.
OK, I just checked your Nutro info above, only to be disappointed that it is indeed owned by a company whose products I do not like for their skimpy nutritional value. I thought Nutro was better than that! I’m going to try Halo again (it means going to a big box shop vs local) as my boys used to eat it, even if they pushed the veggies aside – hehe… I try to feed them carrageenan-free canned food, so I’m limited on that account. OK, here we go! And thank you 🙂
Thanks for this up to date info. I am not surprised but saddened to read all the academic studies that supported these experimental methods. Money talks, animals can’t. Thank you for being their spokesperson.
Thanks so much for your kind words, Erin.
Thank you for posting this!!! I had never even thought to check if the stuff I’m feeding my dog has been tested on animals! Luckily my pet store carries halo for the same price as blue buffalo so I’ll definitely be making the switch.
That’s great to hear, I bet your dog will like Halo too. 🙂
Do you know anything about Canidae? From what I’ve read they don’t test on animals but I haven’t emailed to confirm, and I know you have specific questions that you.
Hi Rizza, I just e-mailed to verify but here’s an excerpt from their FAQ:
“CANIDAE neither conducts nor condones any inhumane laboratory live animal testing. After many years of making pet food and over a million tons a month being fed without incident world wide, we have passed the real world test without harming or inhumanely caging a single dog or cat.”
It’s not totally clear based on that so please stay tuned for their reply!
That’s what I found as well! It seemed really vague. Thanks so much for contacting them! Looking forward to their response.
I love that you are sharing this. People need to know more about the pet foods they are buying, and the companies that own the majority of the brands. But, there is one major issue here. I and many others would agree that feeding a cat or dog a vegan diet is a form of animal cruelty by itself! This is more serious with cats as they are obligate carnivores. We should not be feeding them a diet based on our lifestyle when it is not appropriate for their bodies. Feed them what they were designed to thrive on and find a reputable company. I feed my furbabies frozen raw.
Definitely agree with you when it comes to cats. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, Loula. 🙂
I’m a vegan crazy cat lady, lol, but wouldn’t ever feed my cats a vegan diet for that reason. I just assumed that their animal-based food is a result of cruelty, and therefore I have to live with that guilt ? but didn’t consider less cruel ways of acquiring their food. Dammit now I’m sad, so I’ll just end with: thank you for *all* your research. I love your blog, and it’s a great resource for those of us (trying to live) living a more compassionate lifestyle. Thank you.
Everyone has a right to their opinion of course but to say that feeding your pets a vegan diet is a form of animal cruelty is ridiculous to say the least. On one hand you have commercial pet food which is made up of antibiotics, euthanized pets, cadavers of animals from the farming industry that have died from disease and are rejected for human consumption, feces, pus, tumors, already rotten corpses, not to mentioned each and every animal that has been killed for meat has been tortured and slaughtered in a horrific and terrifying way which is the cause of cancer, liver problems, cholesterol, blindness, early death, bone problems, heart disease, etc etc… then on the other hand you have a really nasty cruel vegan whose only hope in life is to rid all animals from any kind of suffering and they research the foods they buy ensure no cruelty is involved, ensure that absolutely all the nutrients and vitamins are included and even go as far as to add fortified nutrients and vitamins which are 100% complete like VegeDog™ and VegeYeast™, and some disgusting vegans will go all the way and cook the food for their pets making sure that absolutely nothing is missing nutritionally always including VegeDog™ and VegeYeast™ and even Green Mush™, have their pets checked time and time again paying for expensive blood tests to ensure that their pets are getting everything they need…. yes I can see how you arrived at the conclusion that vegans feeding their pets a vegan diet is a form of animal cruelty…
I agree. At least feeding pets a vegan diet ensures that no other animals were slaughtered for pet consumption. I mean, isn’t slaughtering animals cruelty? Genuine animal lovers are going to love ALL animals, even the farm animals traditionally slaughtered for meat: Chickens, cattle, pigs, sheep, ducks, and even quail. Otherwise, we shouldn’t even have pets that are carnivores.
No, Dixie, if you’re going to feed a vegan diet, you SHOULDN’T have a pet that’s a carnivore. There are plenty of pets that aren’t carnivores that will allow you to maintain your views and thrive on the diet that you give them so you’re not selfishly compromising an animal’s health.
I think a great idea for dogs is locally sourced eggs because then you know no one is harmed and your dog can still get enough protein since they are omnivores (obviously only when added to something like the honest kitchens base with no meat) I don’t know about cats because I’m allergic so I never have had to research for that purpose.
Never even thought about this :-O Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for reading! 🙂