I have heard of strict vegetarians putting their dogs on vegetarian diets. Imo that is wrong because don't dogs need meat?
It's wrong on so many levels that it boggles the mind.
Indeed. Although dogs are not the true carnivore's that cat's are. If a dog makes a kill, the first, most prized meal will be to rip open the animals stomach and eat the contents. This is a mix of meat and greens. Tripe. So the best food to give a dog is meat mixed with some greens. To take away either of those to things makes it an unnatural diet.
Putting a cat on a vegetarian diet is really unnatural. They are real carnivore's. Sometimes cats don't digest cereal and other bulking ingredients very well at all, and these are used to varying degrees in pet foods.
I think the worst thing is the practice of feeding meat to vegetarian animals. I can't remember if the 'mad cow' thing was global but it was a big thing here in the UK. It emerged that greedy farmers were simply not content with feeding cows and sheep their natural diet. Oh no, more cost effective to put in all the meat and offal not fit for human consumption. Really, turning a vegetarian animal into a carnivore and in some cases even a cannibal.
I can't offer any scientific proof but I do wonder if this 'playing around with nature' was responsible for the 'mad cow' thing that was not just observed in cows but eventually humans too. Upset the natural balance of things and nature will bite back! Responsible or not, this practice seems so wrong. I believe it is outlawed now, but I was angry that these unscrupulous, greedy farmers were *compensated* for their losses during the crisis. Public money was used as there was a wave of 'oh the pooor farmers can no longer export their beef and are going out of business'. Well, IMO, those poor farmers exploited their animals in order to squeeze a bit more profit and deserved to be going out of business.
Going back to my original post, the PC stuff doesn't really flip my lid - it just makes me laugh. The funny thing is, after speaking to the school, it seems they themselves find it ridiculous too but they are obligated to send such letters home with pupils. Makes it all a bit of a farce really.