(WXIN) – A congressional panel has recommended that the 2,500 pet deaths associated with flea-and-tick collars be recalled.
This past week, the Seresto Flea and Tick Collars was the subject of a 24-page report published by the Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy.
The investigation into potential problems with the $70 collar, intended to shield dogs and cats from fleas and ticks, lasted 16 months. Millions of the flea collars have been sold since 2013.
Convenience is the main selling point. The collars promised eight months of protection for dogs and cats, whereas most flea-and-tick treatments must be applied monthly. They were created to gradually release a small amount of pesticide over several months.
According to the subcommittee, the product, which was initially created by Bayer Animal Health and is now owned by Elanco Animal Health with its headquarters in Greenfield, Indiana, has been connected to 98,000 incidents involving “unexpected effects” and 2,500 pet deaths.
The subcommittee discovered that the EPA hurried the approval process for the collar and used questionable science in doing so. In 2015, the EPA first learned of potential issues with the collar, placing the Seresto collars at No. When it came to incidents involving flea-and-tick products, there was only 1 “by a wide margin.”
When compared to the second-most problematic flea-and-tick product, Seresto collars had nearly three times the overall incidents and nearly five times the rate of “deaths” or “major” incidents. The collar was rejected by Canadian regulators because they felt it posed “too great a risk to pets and their owners.” ”.
Even after concluding that Seresto collars “probably or possibly caused 45%” of 251 pet deaths examined by the agency, the EPA still allowed the product to stay on the market.
EPA officials expressed displeasure over the Seresto collars’ continued availability and relief following a Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting and USA Today report that was released in March 2021.
One scientist wrote, “I hope there is a FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request for all communications on this to make our emails public.” “We have been screaming about this for many years. Another EPA representative expressed hope that “this time someone can blow the lid off this travesty” in a letter. ”.
Lethargy, strange behavior, excessive grooming and vocalizing, as well as pet vomiting and diarrhea were all issues brought on by the collar. Irritated skin and lesions were also common. Some animals experienced muscle tremors, convulsions, or loss of control over their movements.
According to the report, which used data from Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), some pet owners noticed the symptoms and took the collars off early.
However, pets were not the only ones in danger, as determined by PMRA. 357 pet owners reported collar-related issues between 2012 and 2015 According to information obtained by the PMRA from Bayer, there were 106 “major” and “moderate” incidents in total.
People reported things like hives and dermatitis. Some people also experienced dizziness, nausea, or throat irritation in addition to respiratory and neurological effects. According to the PMRA, the issues were “probably or possibly brought on by exposure to the Seresto collar.”
The Canadian agency came to the conclusion that banning the collars from being sold there was the only effective way to stop them from posing issues. Bayer’s request to sell the product within its borders was denied by the PMRA.
The subcommittee discovered that the EPA gathered comparable data, but despite “overwhelming evidence” of potential issues, the U S. The product was given agency approval and was permitted to stay on the market for years.
A whistleblower claims that in 2017, at least one senior official with the Trump Administration attempted to “tamp down” worries regarding issues with Seresto collars.
According to the report, “an EPA scientist instructed two other EPA officials to cease communicating their concerns about Seresto via email after receiving orders from a senior EPA official.”
When a different EPA scientist shared third-quarter data in November 2018 and revealed 148 pet deaths, the situation deteriorated even further. The Seresto collar, according to the scientist, is “the only product where we are seeing this trend.” ”.
According to the report, Bayer was informed about problems with the collars. However, the EPA only suggested “limited actions” to solve the issue. In July 2019, the agency met with Bayer, but it didn’t seem like anything came of the meeting and no regulatory action was taken.
Bayer rejected ideas like changing the products’ warning labels. The labels remained unchanged. To help the EPA better track data, another suggestion called for separate registrations for cat and dog collars. An EPA product manager agreed with Bayer that the requirement was too onerous.
The report stated that the Seresto collars “immediately became Elanco’s ‘top product globally'” after Elanco Animal Health acquired Bayer in 2020. Bayer claimed that it had given its new owner all pertinent information regarding the collars.
Elanco, like Bayer, did not alter the label in the United States. S. even after the USA Today report from March 2021 became public Australian labels for Seresto described the product as “POISON,” while Colombian labels described it as “highly toxic.” ”.
Elanco had “taken the position that the safety and toxicity studies of the collar’s active ingredients do not support the claim that the collar could cause serious harm to animals,” according to the report, which claimed that Elanco was still in denial about problems with the collars. ”.
On March 17, 2021, the subcommittee began its investigation, about nine years after the collar received regulatory approval.
The report concluded that “the Seresto collar has harmed many pets, and their owners, for too long.”
Elanco stated in a March 2021 statement that it had no plans to intervene in the market and that negative events in the U S. were below 0. 3%. It claimed that since the EPA approved the product, it has sold more than 25 million Seresto collars.
The EPA approved the Seresto flea and tick collar in 2012, and it was available for purchase the following year.
Another comment on the fakes reads, “I don’t want anyone else to fall for this con and purchase these fake collars. “.
Another filed a report about her dog. I truly believed I had lost her because she broke open and was bleeding from her neck after having an allergic reaction to the collar. “.
Elanco Animal Health President and CEO Jeff Simmons stated that “no product is risk-free.” “What matters is whether those risks are appropriate given the benefits,” “.
Members of Congress claim that since then, there have been more than 98,000 incident reports and 2,500 pet deaths.
According to the report, the EPA’s own peer review of Canada’s investigation “found an even stronger connection between Seresto collar use and deaths.” 33% of the 251 pet deaths linked to Seresto that were examined by the Canadian agency were “probably or possibly” brought on by the collar. The same 251 pet deaths were examined independently by the EPA, which “concluded that 45%, or 113, of the deaths, were probably or possibly caused by the collar.” ”.
She continued, “My worry is that (Elanco) is preventing the EPA from gathering those necessary data and making that necessary decision. If Elanco won’t cooperate with the EPA to obtain this information, Seresto will have to be taken off the market, I implore you to do so. Too many families have suffered already. ”.
The congressional report noted that pets in the cases that PMRA linked to Seresto displayed symptoms such as skin issues, “lethargy, abnormal behavior, excessive grooming and vocalization, vomiting, diarrhea, and anorexia.” More than a third of these cases involved issues with “multiple organ systems,” with some patients also reporting convulsions, tremors in their muscles, and loss of control over their movements. Ten percent of those pets lost their lives or had to be put to sleep as a result of the collar
We couldn’t depend on the EPA to protect man’s best friend, he said. “.
In a statement to Investigate Midwest and USA TODAY, Krishnamoorthi said, “It is unacceptable that the EPA has known for years about the Seresto collar’s safety issues and has continued to permit Americans to unknowingly endanger their pets by using a product they have been misled to believe is safe.”
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