Palm oil poisoning ongoing in Cornwall
Vets in Truro say they saw daily cases of poisoning until three weeks ago.
Vets in Cornwall say they had been seeing daily cases of palm oil poisoning in dogs until recently but the problem is still ongoing.
Reports of a white substance washed up on beaches first began to appear in October when one dog died after ingesting it and two others became seriously ill. Shortly after this, this substance was identified as palm oil.
Cases of a white substance washed up on beaches have since been reported in Devon and Guernsey.
Chris Gardner of St Clements Vets in Truro says three weeks ago they were seeing a dogs on a daily basis that had ingested palm oil.
"It went quiet for a week or so until we had another dog two days ago," he adds. "It is possible that there were less dogs on the beaches due to poor weather, more awareness of the problem, or that the storms had moved the palm oil further down the beach to the quieter end, as there seems to be a lot of flotsam and jetsam there."
Each dog brought to St Clements Vets recovered after vomiting was induced with apomorphine and liquid charcoal administered.
Members of the public have been helping to clear up the beach, with some collecting boulders of around 60cm across.
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
