Melamine Kills 1,500 Chinese Dogs

About 1,500 Chinese raccoon dogs, bred specially for their fur, have died after eating tainted food over the last two months, the AP reports, raising fears of rampant misuse of the chemical melamine. The discovery comes as melamine-tainted milk has sickened thousands of babies with kidney stones and been tied to four deaths.

"First, we found melamine in the dogs' feed, and second, I found that 25% of the stones in the dogs' kidneys were made up of melamine," said a vet who performed necropsies on the animals. China had vowed to increase enforcement of the pet food industry last year after dozens of American dogs and cats died from eating tainted pet food.
(More melamine stories.)