Calls for pet owners to switch to vegan dog food from wildlife campaigner
Chris Packham says he switched his dogs after high levels of fatty products were found to be harming them
Last updated 22nd Apr 2026
New Forest wildlife campaigner, Chris Packham, is calling for a switch to vegan dog food after a blood test discovered dangerous levels of fat inside his dog, Sid.
Mr Packham told us his dogs Sid and Nancy had blood tests done to see how at risk they were of things like Pancreatitis - and said his dog, Sid, came back with dangerously high fat levels.
He tells us he thinks the switch to vegan dog food was worth it and is helping his dogs back to health.
He said: "We had blood tests done to make sure they were healthy enough to make this transition and it was quite alarming.
"We found that Sid had quite a lot of bile acids and fats in his blood, to the point that it was dangerous.
"We had him checked over to make sure his organs were okay, livers and kidneys, and he was, but the vets recommended that he go on a low fat diet immediately.
"Given his raw food diet could have been up to 30% fat and this diet is 7 to 8% that fitted.
"After 90 days we had the blood test done again and we saw a 74% reduction in blood fats.
"A 39% reduction in those things that were harming his liver and stressing it, so those had gone down and he was less likely to have gone on to have got pancreatitis or other problems with his liver and kidneys.
"We had no idea that the diet he was on was potentially causing him that harm and if we hadn't changed it then he probably wouldn't have lived such a long and healthy life - which he's hopefully on track for now."
He tells us it's also a good move for the environment.
Mr Packham added: "It's a win for the planet.
"Six billion animals are killed every year to put into pet dog food and not many of them, I imagine, are kept in the best conditions.
"Meat and dairy, like I say, is the largest driver of loss of wildlife anywhere in the world.
"We know we need to make this transition and we need to help our farmers through that.
"We're not suggesting that everyone just goes plant-based overnight, and we want people to support their local farmers, particularly through that transition.
"If they're going to eat less meat, then spend money on high welfare, locally sourced meat and put the money in the pocket of the farmer, not the supermarket, is what we're saying."