Thoughtfully and ethically sourced dog treats are not only beneficial for your doggo’s health (and happiness, just ask Bach) they also play an important part in the issue of waste within the human food industry. Resource maximisation and positive environmental impact are central to Gully Road’s ethical standards and when our little business was founded in 2020, it was with the desire to become a dog treat company with a difference. So, we embarked (pardon the pun) on a mission to provide Aussie doggos with the best quality, natural dog treats from the most ethically and environmentally conscious sources. Read on to see how we’re doing so far…
What does zero waste mean?
Waste is an undesirable reality of the food industry within Australia and right around the world. Of the different food waste issues, modern industrial meat processing is up there with the worst culprits. However, the good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. All animals processed for meat include parts of the body and carcass (apologies for the gory words – but we’re trying to be real here) that are inedible or undesirable for humans to consume. Whether you’re in the camp voting for or against meat consumption, this is a reality that isn’t going to change anytime soon.
Of the possible alternative uses for meat excess and ‘waste’ product, dog treats are a wonderful (delicious and nutritious!) avenue for a large volume of this animal offal and other potentially wasted ‘bits’. One reason that dog treats are such a great use for offal is that, at the same time as reducing waste, these parts of animals processed for meat are hugely nutritious for dogs. From organs to fur, meat offal and waste products play an important part in delivering a balanced diet (read more at What is the Prey Model Raw diet for dogs?) and contain many nutrients that are important for promoting and maintaining optimum health, both throughout growth stages and into adulthood and senior years.
Where Gully Road dog treats come from
We work hard to ensure that all of our treats are as ethically produced as possible and this includes ensuring that all of our natural dog treats and raw dog meat products support the reduction of human consumption waste.
Gully Road Fish Treats for Dogs
Our seafood dog treats provide both enormous nutritional benefit for dogs and are also by-products of seafood for human consumption. Sourced within Australia, our local regulations (as well as the more sustainable species utilised) mean that these seafood treatos are less of a contributor to the overfishing issues more prevalent elsewhere in the world. Bits such as gummy shark or flake tails for dogs, chewy shark skin dog treats and fish jerky are jam-packed with nutrients for dogs while also being brilliant uses for parts of fish not typically consumed by humans and this reducing ocean waste.
Chicken Feet for Dogs
It goes without saying that chicken feet are not the most sought after part of Australian hoomans’ most popular protein… However, if you’ve ever witnessed your doggo munching contentedly on this creepy-looking snack – or have looked into the nutritional benefits (especially for joint health, read more at Chicken Feet and other Icky Meal Toppers) – you know that dog treats are the perfect use for these parts. We source our chicken feet from a local producer and with huge amounts of these being processed every day in Australia, the more we can feed our doggos the better!
Grass Fed Beef for Dogs
A nose to tail philosophy – honouring the whole animal and ensuring that everything is celebrated and nothing is wasted – is an important part of our ethical mission. Luckily for us, we’ve managed to team up with another business along the way that is just as passionate about this as we are.
The really exciting success story in ethical production and zero-waste impact is our beef. Why are Gully Road’s beef dog treats different? The answer to that question has many facets, but in short it’s because it is because we are able to oversee and influence the process from start to finish. The Gully Road boss-man and Bach’s hoo-dad Chris moonlights as the co-founder and CEO of Australia’s only commercially licensed mobile on-farm butcher, Provenir. While you can read more about this at ‘Where our natural beef dog treats come from and why it’s important’, the general gist of the story is that Provenir is a meat company doing things differently. This has meant a lot of resistance from the industrial meat industry along the way, but has definitely made a very positive impact on creating a better and more ethical meat industry for the future.
All of Provenir’s beef (and consequently Gully Road’s beef treatos) is;
- On-farm processed without the need for live animal transport, saleyards and industrial abattoirs
- Processed slowly, calmly and kindly by experts trained in low-stress animal handling
- Grass-fed and grass-finished, free from grain-fed diets and thus higher in nutrients and anti-inflammatory properties
- Free-range and free from cramped feedlots
- Naturally grown with the absence of herd antibiotics and growth hormones
Provenir also has a zero-waste ethos, which is why Chris sought out Gully Road as an avenue to ensure that all of the beefy bits (other than the prime cuts that are sought after for human consumption) are utilised to their full potential. Through our premium grass-fed raw meat for dogs – Gully Road RAW – and our dehydrated beef treats, we can confidently say that Gully Road are Australia’s only certified truly farm-to-table (or paddock to dog bowl), 100% grass-fed and high animal welfare meat for dogs. That makes us feel pretty good about our small but important impact on Australia’s meat processing industry.
So what about rabbit treats for dogs?
While our rabbit dog treats aren’t a by-product of meat for human consumption, they also provide an avenue for meat that would otherwise be wasted. Unlike other rabbit dog treats in the market today, our wild-shot rabbit products are sourced from pest eradication programs on local vegetable farms before being processed and dehydrated here at Gully Road. Prior to us taking on these rabbits they were simply left to rot in the paddock or were thrown into waste pits.
Although the thought of culling wild rabbits might not align with everyone’s ideals, this is the reality of this pest species’ impact on the Australian environment and occurs with or without Gully Road on hand to make use of the end product. However, it is important to note that farmed rabbit (which accounts for most other rabbit products on the market) is a VERY different situation from an animal welfare perspective. We’re pretty content that our free range and wild rabbits lived a charmed life munching on the veggies at local farms before a fast ending, especially when compared to rabbits raised in cages.
Fur, be it rabbit or cow, also provides important natural enrichment for dogs and allows them to fulfil important ancestral desires and behaviours. Fur in the diet is an important source of fibre for dogs and can act as a natural dewormer for dogs by sweeping the digestive tract and taking pesky worms and intestinal pests with it along the way. Read more about this at ‘Hairy scary furry bits – animal fur dog treats and digestive health’.
Antlers for Dogs
Although a detached antler might have you thinking about what kind of horrific process occurred to produce it, deer actually shed their antlers naturally each season. Our deer farmer then wanders around the paddock collecting this odd-looking and sometimes elaborate head gear before sending it to us to be enjoyed as our (famously) most long lasting dog chew. 100% cruelty free dog treats, deer antler dog chews come with a stack of other benefits too – learn more about feeding deer antlers at ‘All About Antler for Dogs – Source story, benefits and doggo dental health’.
Grass Fed Goat Trotters
The last sourcing story in the Gully Road treato range is our Grass-Fed Goat Trotters. Like chicken feet, these are a waste product of goat processed for human consumption. Interestingly however, their source story also shares an important environmental benefit akin to that of wild rabbit. Our goat trotters are sourced from Western NSW, where feral goat populations pose a significant problem in over-grazing the landscape. Like rabbits, these goats live free-range and are 100% grass-fed before being humanely processed. The end product provides our doggos with a fabulous low-fat alternative to pig’s trotters.
Kangaroo Dog Treats
You might be wondering why kangaroo – a meat that is very popular with other dog treat companies – is missing from our range. All of our sourcing decisions are made with consideration to an ethical conscience and kangaroo meat for dogs (being a native Australian animal) doesn’t sit well with us from that perspective. If you’re interested in reading more on this, head to ‘This is why we don’t sell kangaroo meat’.
A final note on Gully Road’s sourcing story
Proudly, we are careful to ensure that we source our treats as ethically as possible. We also want to ensure that these products are as healthy as possible for your pooch, which is why all of our natural dog treats are low temperature dehydrated to preserve the full nutritional value as well as being 100% natural, additive and preservative free.
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