SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – Dog food claiming to be made from “free-run” poultry is at the center of a new class action lawsuit.
The case, filed Jan. 8 in California federal court, says Champion Petfoods is actually making its Orijen and Acana lines of pet food from birds that are confined in crowded barns without outdoor access.
The lawsuit says customers are paying more for a product they believe to be more humane than it actually is.
“In truth, the poultry that goes into Champion’s products… is from birds raised entirely indoors in the typical crowded and inhumane conditions of factory poultry farms,” the lawsuit says. “Factory-farmed chickens, like those who become ingredients in Champion’s products, are raised entirely indoors in large warehouse-like facilities. The birds never step foot outside.”
The firms Whitfield Bryson and Mason Lietz & Klinger are pursuing the case.