RSPCA Australia has an ongoing relationship with Hill’s Pet Nutrition, the manufacturers of Hill’s Science Diet. Hill’s provide food free-of-charge to all the animals housed in RSPCA shelters for adoption, and the company also sponsors the annual RSPCA Million Paws Walk. Because of the concern over the PETA investigation into use of animals by the manufacturer of IAMS and Eukanuba pet foods, questions have been asked about whether Hill’s are also involved in use of animals to develop and test their products.

Although Hill’s began as a small independent company, it is now owned by another large multinational, Colgate-Palmolive. In terms of the treatment of animals by Hill’s themselves, the company provides a statement (which is available on their website) on the use of animals in research. The statement explains the type of research that Hill’s carries out and makes it clear that Hill’s does not carry out any research that could jeopardise the health of the animals involved. This applies to both studies conducted by Hill’s themselves, or on behalf of Hill’s at external facilities.

Hill’s parent company, Colgate-Palmolive, produces a range of other products that will, by law, require some animal testing. However, no specific concerns have been raised with RSPCA Australia about the treatment of animals by any Colgate-Palmolive company.