Pet flea treatments poisoning rivers across England, scientists find

[Seasideschnauzers]

“The problem is these chemicals are so potent,” ...even at tiny concentrations. “We would expect them to be having significant impacts on insect life in rivers.” One flea treatment of a medium-sized dog with imidacloprid contains enough pesticide to kill 60 million bees, he (Dave Goulson) said.

Today The Guardian has printed a really interesting article on the use of Flea Treatments and their affect on wildlife as their toxic residues have been found in rivers from dogs going into rivers but more worryingly the residues are found downstream from water treatment plants which suggest the residues are from washing our dogs and their bedding etc.

I’m obviously very worried about this affect on wildlife as our whole ecosystem relies on insects etc but I’m equally worried that many of us and our children/grandchildren play/cuddle and sleep with our dogs and therefore what is risk to humans.

Finally, My first BIG worry is for the dogs who are having these substances applied at levels never used before, now being used year round as many vets upsell Care Plans that include year round treatment when previously I believe (am I correct?) that flea treatments etc were applied only in the appropriate season...

Sources are; The Guardian 17/11/20 : “ Pet flea treatments poisoning rivers across England, scientists find”

And they are referencing this journal: Science of the total Environment “Potential role of veterinary flea products in widespread pesticide contamination of English rivers” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00489697

These finding are from a DEFRA funded PHD, overseen by Dave Goulson who writes the most amazing books on Bees and wildlife gardening. I saw him speak last week online and he said this research is coming out shortly.

I’m aware there are lots of different views on using chemical flea and worming treatments (I now use herbal for both) but maybe it’s time that as dog owners we crowdfund research/ get funding into how these treatments are affecting our dogs and our own health? As, before as a new dog owner I had no idea what I was applying to my dog until she reacted adversely to it and I investigated further but if she hadn’t reacted badly, quite likely I’d still be using them...

I’m sure someone with more IT skills can put real links to this article.
I’m interested in other’s thoughts and because I do not want to upset anyone at all - I’m not criticising anyone using these treatments at all but believe it’s important everyone knows what ingredients they contain and the affect of these ingredients to dogs, humans and wildlife.

[zeta1454]

Thank you for bringing up this topic which sadly has been an issue highlighted years ago by concerned scientists and yet little or nothing has been done to remedy this and, as you say, the promotion through vet surgery payment plans encourage regular use of these products at a level that would not have been the case years ago.

The link to the Guardian article you cite should be here:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... tists-find

There are a couple more articles on this subject from 2018, on this Forum topic too:

viewtopic.php?f=49&t=23300

Reading the product data sheet of the spot on treatments can also be worrying. The one for Advocate, for example, under Contraindications and Warnings states that:

“ In case of accidental oral uptake, symptomatic treatment should be administered. There is no known specific antidote. The use of activated charcoal may be beneficial. After accidental oral ingestion (e.g. licking at the site of application) or overdose, neurological signs (most of which are transient) such as ataxia, generalised tremors, ocular signs (dilated pupils, little pupillary reflex, nystagmus), abnormal respiration, salivation and vomiting may be observed in very rare cases.”

And warns that the solvent in the product “...can damage leather, fabric, plastic and other surfaces..” and yet it is being applied to an animal’s skin! The full data sheet can be read here:

https://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/?id=-4 ... _printview

The widespread impact on the environment and insect life though is extremely worrying and I do hope that products using these chemicals are removed from the market in the near future. If more people are made aware of the impact of the ingredients on the health of their dogs and the environment, fewer might be drawn in to using them but there is well financed marketing behind promoting the anti-parasite treatments as with other pharmaceutical products from vets to pet shops and more.

[Oscar 12345]

Vets adopting a philosophy of treating the problem when it appears would be far better than the blanket approach of trying to prevent all year round. A little more understanding of the dog, it's environment, behaviour, interactions etc. would lead to a far more customised approach for the individual dog. I have tried to give a different perspective to close members of my family but their response is to follow the vet's advice, even on worming. I do find that the manufacturers of the pesticides have terrified people with marketing on flea infestations for example. I have found the best way to eliminate fleas is to discover the problem early so first sign of a scratch, bath the dog, wash the bedding and vacuum vacuum vacuum your way out of it. I once suggested this to someone and the response by lots of people was that they would be crawling up the curtains and one flea breeds xxxxx in xxxxx minutes etc... get Bravecto. Probably easy for me because I no longer work, have one dog and have lots of time to check over and groom my dog. The article could unfortunately drive the more environmentally conscious to feed pesticides to their dogs rather than switch the behaviour to finding alternate ways to treat a potential problem. The number of dogs with seizures caused by flea and tick treatments is not small.

[Dawnspell]

The amateur gardening and commercial horticulture had the same mind set 20 years ago. Spray everything with something before its even got anything. These chemicals were also getting into rivers and destroying natural plant habitats. Now a lot of chemicals have been banned for commercial and amateur use and organic/ semi organic growing techniques are forever on the rise. You were considered something of a "hippy" back then if you grew organic, bit like the attitude towards using natural control for pets now

[Dawnspell]

May be Guernsey could lead the way
https://guernseypress.com/news/2020/11/ ... chemicals/

[zeta1454]

May be Guernsey could lead the way
https://guernseypress.com/news/2020/11/ ... chemicals/

Let’s hope so - it would be great to see this happening across the U.K., Europe and the world before too long

[Dawnspell]

Be interesting to see what they find
https://guernseypress.com/news/2021/01/ ... reatments/

[Schnauzer Sam]

Be interesting to see what they find
https://guernseypress.com/news/2021/01/ ... reatments/

Hopefully nothing or we'll never hear the end of it!