You walk the aisles of your local pet store, or maybe you shop online – and you notice that your pet’s food, treats and supplements are marked “Made in the USA.” You think that this means it is free from any foreign ingredients, and therefore safe – right? Wrong. In fact, various ingredients can be sourced from anywhere in the world and then assembled (made) in the USA. And, suddenly we see how deceptive that “Made in the USA” claim can be.

A ‘consumer advocate’ recently stirred up drama from July 2017 re-circulating an article (figure 1) claiming that Earth Animal No-Hide® treats were rawhide, again. This was on the heels of the announcement of a class-action lawsuit (figure 2) against Earth Animal Ventures (EAV) questioning the ingredients and sourcing of No-Hide® products. I didn’t think I would have to address this issue, but apparently, I do since misinformation and cherry-picked information from the original chain of events keeps circulating (if it’s on the internet it must be true, right?). Consumers and retailers alike need to see the situation for what it is, so I’ll also write this from both a retailer and consumer standpoint to provide the level of transparency I hold others to. As you read this, you’ll understand that both sides have significant issues. In fact, No-Hide® being (or not being) rawhide is hardly the issue. Instead there is a pervasive lack of transparency and misinformation from both the consumer advocate side and EAV.