Is Hill's Science Diet ethical and cruelty-free?
Not really — Hill's Science Diet fails 3 of the 4 ethics signals we track, including its animal-testing position, and holds no third-party certification we can verify.
Hill's Science Diet, owned by Colgate-Palmolive, is a leading veterinary-recommended pet food brand with a strong focus on science-backed nutrition but faces ethical concerns over animal testing and limited sustainability transparency.
The evidence, signal by signal
Cruelty-freeflagged
Conducts controlled animal feeding trials and may test on animals where required by law.
Vegan optionsunverified
No vegan or plant-based product options available.
Sells in mainland Chinaflagged
Selling through mainland Chinese retail has historically triggered post-market animal testing.
Third-party certifiedflagged
No independent certifications recorded on the products we track.
Public pledges: Limited specific pledges; parent company Colgate-Palmolive has corporate science-based carbon and water targets.
Scored with our public methodology. Profile last updated 2026-09-27.
More on Hill's Science Diet
Is Hill's Science Diet ethical? FAQs
Is Hill's Science Diet cruelty-free?+
Conducts controlled animal feeding trials and may test on animals where required by law.
Does Hill's Science Diet have vegan products?+
No vegan or plant-based product options available.
Does Hill's Science Diet sell in mainland China?+
Selling through mainland Chinese retail has historically triggered post-market animal testing.
What is Hill's Science Diet's ethics score?+
Hill's Science Diet averages —/100 across 0 products we score on certifications, sourcing, labour, packaging and transparency.
What are the best alternatives to Hill's Science Diet?+
See our full list of ethical alternatives to Hill's Science Diet for better-scoring options in the same categories.