Contaminated Dog Food - deadly
poison which has struck hundreds of small dogs, with pet food meat
from China the suspected cause.
Email
received: "I feed my animals human grade food.. much safer"
The Advertiser :
Dog
food recalled over scare
recall
THE product suspected to be at the centre of kidney disease in
hundreds of small dogs has been voluntarily recalled by the company
as a precaution.
For comments in The Advertiser
Received: Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Subject: Contaminated Dog Food.
Alert
... hundreds of small dogs have been affected by poisoned meat as
experts try to track down its source.
- Hundreds of dogs hit in poison scare
- Experts try to track down source
- Meat from China suspected
"We have only become aware of this in the last three or four weeks, and we need to make people aware there are some clear indications there is a problem out there," AVA national president Mark Lawrie told The Advertiser yesterday.
Mr Lawrie said the AVA had discussed the cases with a prominent pet-food supplier suspected to be the source of the poison, which the AVA would not name for legal reasons. Vets and small-dog owners have been told to look out for warning signs:
INCREASED thirst and urination.
REDUCED appetite and lethargy.
VOMITING and weakness.
University of Sydney researchers have issued a national alert over the kidney-destroying poison - but after a legal threat from the company, have been banned by the university from making any public comment.
The AVA had also warned vets - in a national alert to all members to be aware of the problem - against making comments to the media about the case.
One university researcher, who would not be named, said there was enough evidence to recall the product but the safety message had been hampered by threats from the company.
"We have not been able to call for cases and an open call to vets for cases has just been made and we are aware of dozens of cases and suspect there are hundreds," he said. "What is important is that the meat is sourced in China and I think pet owners can trust the product if all the ingredients are sourced in Australia."
The researcher said owners should be concerned about any breed but especially dogs the size of a small terrier.
Studies of dead dogs are also being carried out to identify the cause, with one brand of meat suspected of causing symptoms.
Vets have been urged to contact the University of Sydney Faculty of Veterinary Science via email A.Arteaga@usyd.edu.au if they have suspected cases of the poisoning.
