Popular flea collar linked to almost 1,700 pet deaths. The EPA has issued no warning.

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Rhonda Bomwell had never used a flea and tick collar before. Pierre, her 9-year-old Papillon service dog, was mostly an indoor animal.

Still, her veterinarian recommended she purchase one, so Bomwell went to the pet store near her home in Somerset, New Jersey, and selected Bayer’s Seresto collar.

A day later, on June 2, 2020, Pierre had a seizure, collapsing while Bomwell was making dinner. Lying on his back, the dog stopped breathing and his eyes rolled back.

Bomwell tried giving him CPR. Then she called the police. An officer helped her lift the dog into her car, and she rushed him to the hospital. Pierre died before he could receive medical treatment. Bomwell didn’t think to take off Pierre’s collar.

“I just didn’t put it together,” she said.

Bomwell isn’t alone. Seresto, one of the most popular flea and tick collars in the country, has been linked to hundreds of pet deaths, tens of thousands of injured animals and hundreds of harmed humans, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency documents show.

Yet the EPA has done nothing to inform the public of the risks.

Seresto, developed by Bayer and now sold by Elanco, works by releasing small amounts of pesticide onto the animal for months at a time. The pesticide is supposed to kill fleas, ticks and other pests but be safe for cats and dogs.



Since Seresto flea and tick collars were introduced in 2012, the EPA has received incident reports of at least 1,698 related pet deaths. Overall, through June 2020, the agency has received more than 75,000 incident reports related to the collars, including nearly 1,000 involving human harm.

Domestic Animal - Moderate, Minor and Unknown
40,087
Domestic Animal - Minor
21,439
Domestic Animal - Moderate
7,743
Domestic Animal - Major
3,767
Domestic Animal - Fatality
1,698
Human
907
Chart: Johnathan Hettinger/Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting Source: EPA Documents Get the data

The company sold its animal health division to Elanco Animal Health, a former subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Co., for $7.6 billion in 2019. The deal was finalized in 2020. As part of the deal, Bayer received $2.3 billion in Elanco stock, which the company said it would sell over time.

More here:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2021/03/02/seresto-dog-cat-collars-found-harm-pets-humans-epa-records-show/4574753001/
Seresto Incidents

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As some may or may not remember, I lost my cat due to these products several years ago. My other two cats were also sickened, one has brain damage from these products. I still have two cases open with the company that makes the product that sickened/killed my cats. I have never received any restitution or acknowledgement for what has occurred.

I am glad to know that this topic is finally getting some press although the deaths of 1,700+ pets and human harm is a horrific price to pay.

The bottom line is don't use these toxic products on your pets please!

Thank you for reading this.