There is nothing like a pet. They are our friends, protectors, and often entertainment as well. They are in essence and fact family. And a year ago hundreds of these beloved members of our family were murdered in our own homes. That murder was via poisons in the food we served to our pets.
The poison was placed, accidentally, in the food we served our pets in China. There were over 200 pet food labels that were involved in the scandal that started in March 2007. And as of today a judge has awarded $24 million to the lawsuit for those that were harmed.
I think it was hardly enough.
There have been 10,000 pet owners that filed for the lawsuit so far. And if you had a pet that was affected you can file up until November 24th. It is expected that for every verified claim there will be an award of $1,500 depending on the number of claims. And if there are funds left over then the proceeds will be given to animal welfare charities.
But the law does not view our pets as family members. It will not allow penalties for the pain and suffering that was inflicted to the families that lost a loved one. That is a failure of the legal system.
The point of such lawsuits is to inflict an equivalent pain to the offender, and to prevent future occurances of the offense. While this is a large amount it is hardly the equivalent, nor does it reach the levels that need to force animal food companies from getting foods from China.
China by the way is unaffected by this lawsuit. That is another shame. While I understand China is so inept that they are equally poisoning their own children, I still see no change in their policies, especially in regard with foreign nations. A huge penalty by law could help to force better standards in that nation.
One thing is sure, our pets deserve better. Hopefully the companies that sold and had the foods made for them will be more critical and proactive in the future. Because there is no reason such wanton murder should ever have happened in the first place.
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