You should be itching to know about this….

Researchers at the University of Sussex have found widespread contamination of English rivers with two neurotoxic pesticides commonly used in veterinary flea products: fipronil and the neonicotinoid imidacloprid. The concentrations found often far exceeded accepted safe limits.

Rosemary Perkins from the University of Sussex analysed data gathered by the Environment Agency in English waterways between 2016-18. They found that fipronil was detected in 98% of freshwater samples, and imidacloprid in 66%.

Rosemary Perkins, a PhD student at Sussex and a qualified vet, said: "The use of pet parasite products has increased over the years, with millions of dogs and cats now being routinely treated multiple times per year."

So why might this be an issue? Well, for starters these products have been banned across Europe for use on farms, because of their potential impact on pollinators. (although recently it has been allowed again in some countries, including England, for Sugar Beet production).

If you take a look at the advisory label on fipronil, it states that it is highly, to very highly toxic to marine and freshwater fish and that it is also highly toxic to freshwater invertebrates. This, coupled with the fact that they are widely toxic to most land based insects too, shows us that they are potentially a considerable problem, even at very low levels.

Dave Goulson, Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex, who specializes in the ecology and conservation of insects, states that the Seresto dog collar contains 4.5g of imidacloprid, enough Neonicotinoid to kill 1 billion honeybees.

According to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate who funded the research, there are 66 licensed veterinary products containing fipronil in the UK, and 21 containing imidacloprid, either alone or in combination with other parasiticides. These include spot-on solutions, topical sprays and collars impregnated with the active ingredient.

The paper, published in Science of the Total Environment, notes that the highest levels of pollution were found immediately downstream of wastewater treatment works, supporting the hypothesis that significant quantities of pesticide may be passing from treated pets to the environment via household drains.

Also, how often does your adorable mutt love a little swim in your local river, stream or pond – especially in the hot summer months? An action that could be directly impacting on the health of the wildlife that lives there. 

         

 

     

 

                                             

 

 

              Many dogs love a swim!

 

So, what are the alternatives to using pesticides for the treatment of fleas and ticks? This is some advice I have found on-line:

Vacuuming is highly effective at removing fleas in any life stage from their favourite haunts: carpets, cushioned furniture, floor cracks and crevices, and pet play structures. Because vacuuming collects fleas but does not kill them, put some tape over the end of the vacuum cleaner hose to prevent fleas escaping from the bag, or transfer the bag to an outdoor waste bin.

Hot, soapy water acts as an effective means to kill fleas in all life stages with no health risk to pets or people. Wash pet bedding weekly to treat an infestation.  Whenever you are handling pet bedding that may contain flea eggs, fold it up carefully so the eggs do not fall out of the bedding and land on the floor or furniture.

Flea combs are made to remove adult fleas, flea dirt, and dried blood from your pet’s skin and fur. They are highly effective, and pets often enjoy the process. Focus on head and neck but groom your whole pet if possible. Pull the fleas out of the comb and drop them into soapy water before they have a chance to jump away. During active flea infestations, grooming twice daily may be needed; otherwise, several times per week just to check for fleas.

A thorough bath using regular pet shampoo and hot water, kills adult fleas as effectively as flea shampoos and dips that contain pesticides and is safer for you and your pet. Before you fill the tub, start by putting a ring of concentrated soap around your pet’s neck, so they cannot escape from the bath water by crawling onto the pet’s head. Cats prefer grooming to baths, but for dogs or long-haired cats, bathing is a superior control technique.

Finally, ask your vet about oral medications for fleas. In general, oral medications are preferable to spot treatments or flea collars. And do not treat your cat, or any dog that lives with a cat, with any pyrethroid or pyrethrin compound as they are extremely toxic to felines. 

 

Gene Editing

I was interested to read a press release today with the headline “Gene editing creates potential to protect the nation’s environment, pollinators and wildlife”.

Consultation on future of gene editing was launched by the Environment Secretary, George Eustice, at the Oxford Farming Conference today.

A section of the released statement reads:

The way that plants and animals grow is controlled by the information in their genes. For centuries, farmers and growers have carefully chosen to breed stronger, healthier individual animals or plants so that the next generation has these beneficial traits - but this is a slow process.

Technologies developed in the last decade enable genes to be edited much more quickly and precisely to mimic the natural breeding process, helping to target plant and animal breeding to help the UK reach its vital climate and biodiversity goals in a safe and sustainable way.

Gene editing is different to genetic modification where DNA from one species is introduced to a different one. Gene edited organisms do not contain DNA from different species, and instead only produce changes that could be made slowly using traditional breeding methods. But now, due to a legal ruling from the European Court of Justice in 2018 gene editing is regulated in the same way as genetic modification.

The consultation announced today will focus on stopping certain gene editing organisms from being regulated in the same way as genetic modification, as long as they could have been produced naturally or through traditional breeding. This approach has already been adopted by a wide range of countries across the world, including Japan, Australia and Argentina.

Government will continue to work with farming and environmental groups to develop the right rules and ensure robust controls are in place to maintain the highest food safety standards while supporting the production of healthier food.

Potentially, I recognise that gene editing could be a powerful tool within agriculture, offering breeders the potential to wipe out genetic disease, improve drought resistance, boost nutrient efficiency and prolong shelf life, to name but a few benefits.

But as Peter Stevenson, chief policy adviser at the campaigning group Compassion in World Farming said, “the ways in which livestock had been bred for profitable traits in the past suggested the development of gene editing would be harmful to animals. He pointed to genetic selection for broiler chickens, whereby the fast growth rates gave rise to leg abnormalities and lameness, and in laying hens, selecting for high egg production caused osteoporosis, leaving the hens vulnerable to bone fractures”.

Patrick Holden, of the Sustainable Food Trust, said gene editing would “further accelerate the devastating narrowing of the gene pool which has been a feature of post-war farming”.

I would highlight a non-agricultural example to make the decision makers think long and hard before finalising their judgment. Remember, the following has nothing to do with feeding the world, but simply a human trait for what some see as “pleasing to the eye”. Can humans really be trusted with gene editing?

A number of dog breeders have a lot to answer for in my opinion. For instance, Pug dogs are one of the most inbred of all dog breeds. Knee disorders, stomach problems, larynx collapses, elongated soft pallets and breathing problems brought about because of its squashed face are just some of the issues that affects pugs.

Other problems which pugs must put up with are, curvature of the spine and a propensity to suffer from eye injuries, largely caused by a lack of facial structure which would normally protect the dog. The spinal problems are caused by dog breeder’s desire to have a curled tail called a ‘screw tail’.

Pugs have been radically changed through selective breeding

Another example, found in a recent study, is that 70% of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels had syringomyelia by the age of six years. Syringomyelia is the formation of fluid filled cavities in the spinal cord because of abnormalities in the pressure of cerebrospinal fluid due to a mismatch between the size of the brain and the skull or with abnormality of the skull shape. This has been brought on because of the desire by dog show judges for an ever-smaller head size.

Dogs with syringomyelia can show severe signs of pain around their head, neck, and forelimbs and may whine, yelp or cry and contort their necks, become withdrawn, develop a weak or wobbling gait, such that walking becomes increasingly difficult.

Now bear in mind, these problems have been brought about by selective breeding, quite a slow process. Gene editing can fast-forward animal and plant traits extremely quickly.

If you want to find out more and have your say - go to: https://consult.defra.gov.uk/agri-food-chain-directorate/the-regulation-of-genetic-technologies/