Malnourished Puppies Rescued; Australian Couple Fined After Feeding Pet Dogs With Meat-Free Diet

An Australian couple has recently been prohibited from owning a pet after they gave their malnourished puppies a meat-free diet.

According to an Insider report, specifically, the vegan couple has been banned from having pets for three years. They were also fined approximately $7,000 for the said action.

Cow Bay, Queensland-based James McKenzie, and Megan Price were both charged with two counts of failing to treat an animal and another count of failing to conform to an animal welfare guideline, reported the news outlet.

The two had their Bull Arab puppies held from their properties in May last year, the report specified, following the discovery of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or RSPCA of the starving dogs in dreadful situations.

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(Photo: kim_hester from Pixabay)
A veterinarian described the rescued dogs as emaciated, adding the pets were suffering from severe malnourishment, not to mention, nutritional imbalance due to their being fed an inadequate diet for about three months.

Pets Fed With Meat-Free Diet

Named Roo and Ula, the puppies had reportedly been given a diet that consisted only of quinoa, rice, chickpeas and grains.

A search warrant showed that no meat products, dog food or bowls of water were present or available at the couple's property, MailOnline reported.

The said Insider report said that the RSPCA made multiple visits before they seized the pets. They also received reports of animal cruelty.

On one of the previous visits, according to the news outlet, the other puppy, Roo, was found underweight, unable to stand, and have stomach blisters.

Then, at a later visit, McKenzie allegedly confronted the staff of the RSPCA. According to the MailOnline report, he told the staff "You eat murdered animals" and that he would never be like them. They are vegans, he continued, and they love animals.

Ultimately, the malnourished puppies were rescued and went through emergency medical treatment.

Emaciated Dogs

Paul Matthews, a veterinarian, described the rescued dogs as emaciated. He added the pets were suffering from severe malnourishment, not to mention nutritional imbalance due to their being fed an inadequate diet for about three months.

Fortunately, the condition of the other dog, Ula, improved and he was sooner or later given a new home and name. Now, he is called Scrappy-Doo.

His front paws, nonetheless, according to the said news report, have been disfigured permanently. Roo, on the other hand, Newsweek reported, was put down following expression of concerns from veterinarians about his quality of life because of chronic pain.

Vegan Diet for Dogs?

According to WebMD, approximately three percent of Americans are following a vegan diet. Their reasons for doing so differ. Some vegans are doing it for the improvement of their health.

Also known as a plant-based diet, a vegan diet could help lower the risk for certain illnesses. Others are staying away from meat since they do not want to hurt, harm or kill animals. Some people are on a vegan diet because they want to be protectors of the environment.

Not all dogs are doing well with a vegan diet. According to Reader's Digest, one's personal food philosophy is most likely to determine what he feeds his dog.

While some individuals might think a meat-based is ideal for their pet, others may believe, a vegan diet is. Ernie Ward, DVM in San Francisco and Association for Pet Obesity Prevention founder said that's okay as long as this rule is followed: Make sure, the diet, whatever it is, one chooses is nutritionally sufficient.

He added, there were very few commercial diets available in the United States he's taking issue with. The one exception is the consumption of raw diets which, he explained, may lead to nutritional inadequacies, particularly in dogs.

A related report is shown on Actual News's YouTube video below:

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