The Environmental Protection Agency did not warn consumers about a popular flea and tick collar that’s been linked to 1,700 pet deaths despite having documents indicating that it caused hundreds of pet deaths and thousands of injuries.
Seresto, a collar developed by Bayer and sold by Elanco, works by releasing small amounts of pesticide onto the animal wearing it for months at a time, according to a report by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.
The pesticide is used to kill fleas, ticks, and other pests, but it is supposed to be safe for dogs and cats. However, the effects of the collar have hurt thousands of animals, including Rhonda Bomwell’s 9-year-old Papillon service dog named Pierre.
Bomwell, of New Jersey, purchased a collar after it was recommended by her veterinarian, but a day after Pierre began wearing the Seresto collar, he had a seizure, collapsed with his eyes rolled back, and stopped breathing.
“I just didn’t put it together,” Bomwell said, referring to his death being linked to the collar.
Since Seresto collars were introduced in 2012, the EPA has received at least 1,698 incident reports of pet deaths. Through June 2020, the agency had more than 75,000 incident reports, including almost 1,000 that involved human harm.
Karen McCormack, a retired EPA employee who worked as a scientist and communications officer, said the agency knew of the risks but did not inform the public and that the collars had the most incident reports of any pesticide pet product she’s ever seen.
“The EPA appears to be turning a blind eye to this problem, and after seven years of an increasing number of incidents, they are telling the public that they are continuing to monitor the situation, but I think this is a significant problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later,” McCormack said.
The EPA, which is in charge of regulating products that contain pesticides, told the Washington Examiner that the agency takes reported incidents seriously and encourages pet owners to look carefully at a product’s label before deciding to use it.
“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, EPA has returned to its core mission, which includes protecting our pets’ health,” an agency spokesperson said via email. “We take every incident reported seriously and review these data to see whether action is necessary. EPA encourages pet owners to read the entire label before using the pesticide product and follow all directions carefully, including monitoring your pet after application to see if side effects occur. If side effects develop, the label tells the consumer to consult the pet’s veterinarian immediately.”
Keri McGrath, a spokeswoman for Elanco, said that the company takes the safety of their products “very seriously and thoroughly investigates potential concerns related to their use.”
McGrath also said global data shows 1 in 568 users of Seresto have an incident and that the majority are “nonserious effects,” such as reddening of skin or hair loss below the collar.
“Keep in mind that the existence of an adverse event report does not necessarily mean the product caused the problem,” McGrath said. “Causality between the observed signs and the use of the product is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. That said, every adverse event collected, regardless of causality, is reported to the authorities.”
But Ron Packard, a Massachusetts resident who created a Facebook page to raise awareness of the issue, is asking people to share their stories and help prevent others from losing their beloved pets. His two dogs died shortly after wearing the Seresto collars. Packard is encouraging everyone to report their story to the EPA.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“I don’t want others to go through what we went through,” Packard said. “Every time I read the stories, it brings me back to my dogs. But if I can save a few pets, I can deal with it.”
