Banned pesticide 'fly tipping' may have caused dog death

Friday 11 August 2017

Fly-tipping of a highly toxic banned pesticide may have killed a 10-year-old dog who had been walking in the area of Les Creux Millennium Park and Beauport, it has been claimed.

Named Cyrena, the Japanese Spitz died in July from exposure to Phorate, an insecticide which is not available for sale on the island and attacks the nervous system in a similar way to nerve gas.

States Vet Theo Knight-Jones and Senior Countryside Officer Tim Liddiard met up with Cyrena's owner, Lallie Clarke, on Wednesday. All three walked the same route as Ms Clarke and her dog in order to try and identify the source of the pesticide, but none could be found.

"We wanted to understand where the dog got access to the poison. We didn't see any traces of phorate or anything suspicious on our walk. The possible explanation is that it was either left behind a long time ago and a tiny bit somewhat became accessible, or that it was found in an old store and dumped in the area. I wouldn't see it being used commercially, it wouldn't be the logical thing to do," the States Vet commented.

Mr Knight-Jones also contacted the UK laboratory who ran tissue tests on Cyrena. He explained: "I wanted to clarify the results and they can sometimes give 'false positives'. The lab said they had retested the tissue and they were pretty positive that phorate caused the death. We found residues in the dog's stomach which means she came in contact with the pesticide shortly before she died." 

Phorate is mostly found in granular form. Even a small amount can cause the death of a dog, although both Jeremy Miller from All Pets Vet Centre and the UK Laboratory said it was the first time they had seen a dog die from phorate since it was banned.

Pictured: Cryena had been walking with owner Lallie Clarke around Les Creux and Beauport before she died. (Google Maps)

While the source of the phorate hasn't been located yet, the States Vet is confident there is no need to avoid the area completely. He explained: "I would advise dog-owners to be cautious but not beyond what is normal. You wouldn't want your dog rummaging off in others' properties where you don't know what is going on. They have to be careful but the fact that nothing immediate was found and that no other case been has been reported means there is a low risk of it happening again.

"It could have been the tiniest quantity this very unlucky dog found. We haven't been advised of any other case and the rangers are going to keep monitoring the area. They will be looking more thoroughly for any pesticide that could have dumped there."

Lallie Clarke, Cyrena’s owner, said she was pleased to see the States Vet getting involved in the investigation. She told Express: “When all of this happened, my husband wondered if there was any point to investigate because we knew it would be difficult to pinpoint. Someone from the Jersey Dog Forum, who has been amazing in supporting me through my grieving process, asked me if I would follow this through so I gave permission for the tissues to be tested. It helps bring closure to something that has been deeply traumatic, not because of what it happened, but because it was so random.”

Ms Clarke added she hopes something good will come out of the investigation. She said: “I have two dogs and I could have lost both of them. It makes me so angry that somebody would use something like that. It must have been used inappropriately to be so easily accessible. It was breezy that day so maybe the phorate could have been blown away. I chose to follow it through because of the wider implications. This is a communal area where people and all sorts of animals wander. I suppose a good outcome would be for the Police and the Agriculture Department to get involved to make sure it does not happen again.”