A congressional subcommittee called for the recall of a popular flea and tick collar that was associated with the deaths of 1,700 pets and suspected of causing disease in tens of thousands more.
In a letter to the collar manufacturer Seresto – one of the top sellers on Amazon and major U.S. pet retailers – US representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) Demanded an immediate recall, citing reports that he was involved in 75,000 harmful incidents for pets and nearly 1,000 incidents involving humans, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency.
“We believe that the actual number of deaths and injuries is much higher, as the average consumer would not be able to report damage to pets to EPA, an agency apparently unrelated to pet products,” Krishnamoorthi wrote in the letter.
The EPA, which regulates pet collars because they contain pesticides, has also been implicated in not doing enough to deal with the large number of complaints it has received, according to USA Today, which first reported problems with the collars on March 2 along with the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.
The Seresto collar “is the only flea and tick collar that combines a cocktail of two pesticides,” wrote Krishnamoorthi in a letter to Jeff Simmons, chief executive of its manufacturer, Elanco Animal Health, citing EPA data. While this can make collars more effective against fleas, “apparently they can be more toxic to pets and humans as well,” added the legislator.
An incident involving a 12-year-old boy sleeping in bed with a dog wearing a collar resulted in the boy’s hospitalization due to seizures and vomiting, Krishnamoorthi wrote.
In addition to demanding a recall and refunds for Elanco’s customers, Krishnamoorthi, chairman of the consumer and economic policy subcommittee, is asking German pharmaceutical giant Bayer, which originally developed the necklace, to disclose information about its toxicity.
Among the issues that lawmakers are looking into are all communications “between Bayer and Elanco during Elanco’s acquisition of Bayer Animal Health about toxicity or risks of death and injury to pets or humans by Seresto’s flea and tick collars. and the transfer of responsibilities “, according to the letter.
Bayer sold its animal health division to Elanco last year for $ 7.5 billion. In 2019, she recorded revenues of more than $ 300 million with the Seresto collar.
Elanco officials could not be reached immediately for comment on Friday.
Elanco officials on Friday said they are cooperating with the Congressional subcommittee’s investigation and “hope to explain how media reports on this topic have been largely disproved by toxicologists and veterinarians”. The company added that “no market action, such as a recall, is guaranteed, nor has it been suggested by any regulatory agency.”
“There is no medical or scientific basis for initiating a recall of Seresto collars and we are disappointed that this is causing confusion and unfounded fear for pet owners trying to protect their pets from fleas and ticks,” Dr. Tony Rumschlag, senior director of technical consultants at Elanco, said in a statement to USA Today.
A retired EPA employee, Karen McCormack, disagrees, as the Post reported. Collars have the highest number of incidents of all pet pesticide products she has ever seen, McCormick told USA Today.
Seresto is one of the most popular collars sold on Amazon, which has numerous unsettling reviews about the product.
“10 days after putting the Seresto collar on my dog, she suffered a neurological condition diagnosed as ‘unknown origin’ meningitis,” wrote a client. “She has temporarily lost the use of her hind legs and the vet’s bills have already exceeded $ 5,000.”
Amazon told USA Today through a spokeswoman that it is “reviewing” the product.