Report: Popular flea collar linked to nearly 1,700 pet deaths

Authored by whdh.com and submitted by Stranger1982
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(WHDH) — A popular flea and tick collar for dogs and cats has been linked to nearly 1,700 pet deaths, as well as tens of thousands of injuries, according to multiple published reports.

Scores of pets are being harmed by Seresto collars, which work by releasing small amounts of pesticide onto the animal for months at a time, according to a new report published by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting and USA Today.

Since Seresto introduced the collars in 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has received reports of at least 1,698 pet-related deaths.

As of June 2020, the EPA had also received more than 75,000 incident reports related to the collars, according to documents obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity and shared with the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.

Nearly 1,000 of the reported incidents involved human harm, the documents indicated.

SAMISALLALONE on March 3rd, 2021 at 17:55 UTC »

This article is very frustratingly vague. How can I read about the important stuff here? What kind of harm are we talking about? The article lists 1000 cases of HUMAN harm also. I've been using these collars for years and am extremely alarmed

holddoor on March 3rd, 2021 at 15:12 UTC »

Seresto collars

saved you a click

49orth on March 3rd, 2021 at 15:02 UTC »

Who the hell is the EPA working for?

From the article:

Since Seresto introduced the collars in 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has received reports of at least 1,698 pet-related deaths. As of June 2020, the EPA had also received more than 75,000 incident reports related to the collars, according to documents obtained by the Center for Biological Diversity and shared with the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.

Nearly 1,000 of the reported incidents involved human harm, the documents indicated.

The EPA has known about the incidents for years but has not informed the public of the potential risk associated with the collars, according to Karen McCormack, a retired EPA official.

“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,” McCormack said in the report. “But I think this is a significant problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.”

While the EPA reportedly declined to say how Seresto compares to other pet products, an agency spokesperson said in an email to the authors of the report, “No pesticide is completely without harm, but EPA ensures that there are measures on the product label that reduce risk.”