The report found that the EPA has not conducted or published animal risk assessments as it promised to do, and continues to rely on an inadequate 1998 companion animal safety study.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not properly reviewed the
safety of a popular flea and tick collar that has been linked to more than
3,000 pet deaths, according to the agency’s top watchdog.
The EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), an independent office in the
agency tasked with holding the agency accountable, published a report on
Feb. 29 calling on the EPA to make a proper, science-based decision on the
Seresto product and improve its processes for making safety determinations
for pet products.
The report found that the agency has not conducted or published animal risk
assessments as it promised to do, and continues to rely on an inadequate
1998 companion animal safety study.
Seresto pet collars work by releasing two active ingredients, the pesticides
flumethrin and imidacloprid. The OIG found that the EPA has failed to
properly review those active ingredients, including in a new analysis last
year.
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Please read the ENTIRE NEW LEDE ARTICLE HERE.
A class action lawsuit against Bayer Healthcare and Elanco Health Animal Health, which sells Seresto flea and tick collars, has settled for $15 million. As discussed below, anyone who purchased a collar is entitled to compensation. An investigation alleged that “there have been over 75,000 incident reports, at least 1,698 pet deaths, and close to 1,000 reports of harm to animal caregivers from the introduction of the Seresto collar Products in 2012.” Among the deaths was Tigger:
Shortly before the settlement was announced, the Office of the Inspector General released a report on the Environmental Protection Agency’s handling of the Seresto collar and found, among other things, that the EPA “received more than 100,000 incident reports related to Seresto pet collars," but “did not conduct or publish domestic animal risk assessments,” as required.
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