Pet food labelling regulations leave significant gaps in transparency about ingredient sourcing, processing methods and welfare standards that informed consumers are increasingly demanding.
Pet food labels in most countries reveal less than consumers assume about the welfare provenance of ingredients. The category labelling system that groups diverse animal-derived ingredients under generic terms prevents consumers from making welfare-informed choices at the most fundamental level — knowing which species and production systems contributed to the food. The gap between what consumers want to know and what labels require disclosure of is substantial. Premium brands responding to consumer demand are demonstrating that greater transparency is commercially viable and technically achievable. Regulatory reform toward species-level disclosure and voluntary welfare sourcing standards for pet food ingredients would enable the consumer welfare-informed choice that labels currently make impossible.