Spinny spin spin

I just updated the blog at Pet Connection with this ... interesting, I guess you'd have to say ... story from the hacks at MediaPost's Marketing Daily. I'll let it speak for itself; some things do:

An exclusive research report created for Marketing Daily by Synovate E-Nation shows that awareness of the pet-food recall is extremely high, but owners are making few changes in their pets' diets.

The on-line survey, conducted April 9-11, found that 95% of Americans are aware that pets have died recently because of tainted pet food. Among owners of dogs and cats, awareness reached 100%. Most of them are following the story: 80.4% of cat owners and 74.8% of dog owners say they know which brands are associated with this issue. And of the pet owners, 13.1% said the brand they usually buy has been recalled.

But the pet-food scare has not influenced people to change their behavior. Most are still buying the same brand and type of food (i.e.: wet versus dry) they usually buy, and they're getting it at the same retailer they always go to.

Since March 16, Menu Foods of Streetsville, Ontario has recalled more than 100 brands of pet food and treats. The reason: 16 pets died and thousands of others were sickened from tainted food. The culprit: the U.S. Food & Drug Administration says pet food and wheat gluten used by Menu Foods included melamine, an industrial substance used to make plastic cutlery and sometimes used as a fertilizer.

The Synovate research found that since the recall, 10.7% of pet owners switched from wet to dry food; 11.9% switched to a different brand; and 2.9% changed where they buy pet food. Cat owners were no more likely than dog owners to switch from wet to dry food.

In a pet-crazed country that spends $16 billion a year on pet food, that's not dramatic behavior modification. "It's been a big scare, but maybe overblown. After all, fewer than 20 pets have died," says Tom Mularz, senior vice president at Synovate E-Nation. "For the most part, people feel their pets were unaffected by the recall."

In other news: The moon is made of green cheese.

That is all.

Comments

[Mara57]

Well, although I certainly don't believe that only pets have died, the FETCH survey on the pet food recall shows some interesting numbers on behavior change.

We asked those who have taken the survey (you can still link to it at http://blog.fetchthepaper.com) if their thoughts about what to feed their pets changed since the recall; so far, about 36% say no, 57% say yes, and 7% are still researching. When asked if their behavior has changed, only about 24% said yes; 76% no. The most common change in behavior in our survey so far is "Changed brand" of food--almost 36% chose that.

These numbers may reflect that a high majority reported they already feed a premium kibble and/or some type of home made (cooked or raw) diet.

Anyway, we'll have more about the survey in the May issue of FETCH. We'll keep the survey open a while and invite dog and cat folks alike to take it.

[Mara57]

Oops--Above, I meant "...don't believe that only 20 pets have died". Sorry.

[Reina Brown]

I'm glad you correct yourself when saying tha only twenty pets have died because first of all, that is a bunch of bull, and that's just saying it nicely. I am not sure why people would rather cover their backsides and fudge figures than get out here and DO SOMETHING! My best friend Mario lost his Seeing Eye dog to the tainted food, an as far as we are concerned, we will never again trust the pet food industry.

I wrote a book in tribute to him. Check out my website at www.protectmansbestfriend.com. I wish you well. Blessings.