For almost a year, Rosselkhoznadzor has been gradually banning the import of foreign pet foods, many of which were very popular with Russians. Cat and dog owners are complaining that their pets have been deprived of access to healthy and nutritious food, signing protest petitions and rushing to stock up on scarce products. Pet industry representatives are also concerned. The Russian service of the BBC tried to find out the situation.
“When the food runs out, I don’t know what to do, because my pet is a blind young cat that only eats food recommended by the vet,” says Olga Inzhuvatkina from St. Petersburg. Olga used to buy 1st choice brand cat food produced by the Canadian company PLB International Inc. However, on June 11, the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) announced that it had asked the regulatory authorities of the United Kingdom and Canada to suspend deliveries of all pet food and feed additives imported into Russia without veterinary certificates from the exporting country. This decision was made due to the discovery of unregistered GMO components in the products of two companies. After hearing this news, Olga decided to stock up on food in advance. The cat’s owner says that the vet does not like the idea of changing the pet’s food, as the Canadian variety is currently perfectly suitable for him.
Since last summer, the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) has been gradually imposing a ban on the import of pet food from the Netherlands, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Canada and several other countries. The agency cites the presence of unregistered GMO ingredients in the composition of animal feed. In June last year, popular Russian pet food brands Acana and Orijen, produced by the Canadian Champion Petfood factory, were banned. At the same time, the import of products from two Dutch companies – Vobra Special Petfoods and P.C. van Tuijl Kesteren, as well as a Dutch factory of the American company Hill’s was also banned. In November, the import ban was extended to Atletic Dog and Necon pet food, produced by the Italian company Necon Pet Food.
The situation quickly raised concerns among pet owners and businesses. In late May, the Union of Pet Businesses (SPZ) appealed to the Minister of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, for help in lifting restrictions on pet food imports. Similar requests were also made to the Public Ombudsman for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, Anastasia Tatulova. As Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the commission for zoo-business “Support of Russia”, explained, the basis for the introduction of the ban was the detection of unregistered GMO components in a feed additive for productive animals (i.e. for domestic animals – cows, pigs, sheep, etc.). However, the mechanism of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) works in such a way that if violations are found at individual enterprises, the ban is imposed on supplies from other producers in the country, including those who produce only animal feed. At the same time, the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance claims that the ban initially applied to feed products for both productive and non-productive animals. “GMOs can be present in any feed with a multi-component composition, including plant ingredients. If we are talking about feed for non-productive animals, GMOs have been found in products imported from both European and North American countries,” says the agency’s message, obtained by the BBC.
The SPZ letter points out that about 85% of pet food is produced in Russia, but there is no local production of the highest quality professional feeds, dietary feeds for pets with health problems, and therapeutic feeds, which are vital for many cats and dogs. As a result, the organization notes, problems can arise both for pet owners and for importing companies and veterinary clinics. A petition has appeared on the Change.org website calling for the lifting of restrictions on pet food imports. “Unfortunately, the Russian feed market (which is actively developing and already offers high-quality products) does not yet cover the entire market demand and does not have analogues of many European feeds. This could lead to a shortage and, as a result, to an increase in prices, which have not been good lately,” the petition states. At the time of writing, more than 47,000 people have signed the petition.
Some types of imported food have virtually disappeared from pet store shelves. The BBC reported that the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance has received complaints from the National Feed Union and the Association of Feed Producers and intends to hold negotiations with the pet food industry. According to the agency, they are concerned not only about the “unreliable certification of feed products containing GMOs, but also about significant shortcomings in the laboratory monitoring of feed, in ensuring the traceability of raw materials of animal origin, and the non-compliance with temperature regimes during the production of such goods”. Ekaterina Tarasenko from Ekaterinburg has been working in the zoosphere for a long time. She has several dogs, cats, fish and rats. At the moment, according to her, she doesn’t have any problems with buying food only for rats. The main problem, according to Ekaterina, is that the so-called “holistic” class feeds, which are made only from natural ingredients without artificial food additives, have been banned. She also points out that these feeds are not overloaded with grain components, do not contain wheat gluten, corn and soy. “Who is it important for? First and foremost, it is important for pet allergy sufferers. Because the most common allergy in pets is an allergy to chicken protein (including fat and eggs) and an allergy to grain components. Therefore, the absence of these specific foods is critical,” says Ekaterina. There are currently no equivalents to foreign “holistic” practitioners in Russia, she laments. “Everything we produce contains remnants of human industry (bones, combs, claws, some trimmings, by-products). Feed is overloaded with grain, soy and corn, which the animal’s body does not need,” says Ekaterina.
Tatiana Khrapkova from Tver feeds her cat “Holistics”. She says she has long noticed problems with the supply of these foods to stores. “I have to go to different places to find what used to be available in virtually every major pet store, and there is a feeling that it is just leftover inventory that is disappearing,” she says. Pet stores confirm that the availability of foreign pet food covered by the ban has recently decreased. As reported by BBC, the CEO of the Petshop chain of pet stores, Valery Sirotin, stated that due to a sharp reduction in the supply of imported pet food, the company has to limit their sale. “In order to stretch [feed supplies] for several months, we have to sell conditionally, one package at a time. But it’s still temporary: a few months will pass and the supplies will run out,” he says. Orphans also complain that Russia does not yet have analogues to foreign “holistic” and other types of specialized feeds, although steps are being taken in this direction. “We have just begun to build factories to produce such low-cost feed. We have built such a factory ourselves. But it will take some time to produce expensive feed there. Import substitution does not happen immediately, you have to develop the technology, start with cheap feed and then move on to more expensive feed – it takes about four years. It also costs a lot of money,” says Siroten.
The government ban primarily affected feed for livestock. However, some industry experts are more optimistic and do not see the bans imposed by the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) as an insurmountable problem. For example, according to Mikhail Shelyakov, a senior veterinarian, the global feed market is well developed, so any gaps will be quickly filled. “In fact, no major problems are expected. We only know about the market giants, but many smaller producers would like to enter the Russian market and establish themselves there. Of course, people may be reluctant to switch from one brand to another, but there are always analogues. Russian feed is also becoming higher quality, although of course it is not as diverse as foreign companies,” – the veterinarian thinks.