Law Society Journal (NSW, Australia), June 2002, page 90. Cite as (2002) 40 (5) LSJ 90

Raw meaty bones promote health by Tom Lonsdale, Rivetco, Windsor, 2001, 399pp, $39.95 and online at http://www.rawmeatybones.com, $36.

Reviewed by JUNE MCGOWAN, LSJ

Worth a chew

TOM LONSDALE IS A VETERINARIAN, ONCE A part-time zoo veterinarian, whom "periodontal disease fascinates". This fascination has led him into a ten-year battle with the "artificial pet food industry" and his own professional veterinary associations, both in Australia and the UK.

The book is one for the pet owner but it also holds insights for the campaigner and anyone interested in the power plays of big business, research and professional bodies.

Lonsdale’s thesis is that domestic dogs and cats should be fed natural foods, that is, following closely "the natural diet of free-living wild carnivores – whole carcasses of raw meaty bones" – and that such a diet polishes and cleans the animals’ teeth. He argues that domestic pets fed on commercial pet foods do not gain this benefit and that the ensuing periodontal disease underpins most pet diseases, including arthritis. He also argues that the veterinary associations have thwarted his attempts to publicise the issue.He was refused permission to republish one article which had gained a publication the editor ‘regretted’ on his own website .

The book states that 85 per cent of pets over the age of three have periodontal disease at a level which warrants medical intervention, according to the magazine of the Mars Corporation, one of the two main pet food manufacturers in the world. Tom Lonsdale says most of the other 15 per cent will have a mild form of the disease.

"Smell your pet’s breath", he suggests, to check it out. So one might expect veterinary associations would want the issue explored. Dogs’ toothbrushes, anti-plaque agents and veterinary dentistry somehow strike this non-vet as a rather odd solution. (Toothbrushing is not usually recommended for cats apparently. As a former cat owner I can see why.)

However, it is the interpretation of veterinary bodies and the pet food industry that is the main eye opener of the book. The President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, UK, was also head of Waltham, the Mars pet food research institute in 1996. Petcare runs advisory and educational programs on pets with schools and local councils. It is funded by Mars’ Australian subsidiary Uncle Ben’s. It becomes less surprising that vet associations would show reluctance to pursue the issue.

And Lonsdale raises insights into the research process where ‘normal’ standards are set by measuring the condition of animals who are, in Lonsdale’s thesis, already sick, being routinely fed on commercial pet foods. Researchers’ enthusing that the pet food industry is taking an interest in, and spending large sums on, researching diet and immunity and that "a range of new products should soon be available" seems to ominously parallel the human health industry. The book has copious notes and index, and though it has some repetition, is well worth a read.