Toxic Pet Products

Don't forget what effects us also applies for our pets

Giving Your Pet Cancer
Warning Labels a Must for Toxic Pet Products
By Angela Guss
If you have pets, then you probably know what foods are harmful to them if ingested: onions, grapes, chocolate among them.
But you might not know that something you use to protect your pets from pesky little vermin can also be toxic for them and for your children...
A report in 2000 led to the ban of six dangerous pesticides in pet products, but products — flea and tick collars specifically — containing other toxic chemicals remain on store shelves.
More recently, the settlement from a lawsuit filed by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has led to pet product retailers and manufacturers no longer being allowed to sell flea and tick collars in California that contain a cancer-causing chemical without a warning label.Toxic animals
This seems like a warning label on a toxic product would be a no-brainer. I once bought a bottle of hand lotion that came with a Do Not Eat sticker on it...
So if distributors put a label on hand lotion, why wouldn't they put a toxic label on something that goes around your beloved pet's neck?
“When you pick up a flea collar at the pet store, you just want to stop your dog or cat from scratching; you don’t want to put their health — or your family’s — in jeopardy,” said NRDC Scientist Miriam Rotkin-Ellman.
“Warning labels will now help pet owners better avoid bringing dangerous chemicals into their homes against their will.”
These chemicals are propoxur and tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP) both of which are known to damage the brain and nervous system of animals, as well as cause cancer.
Another concern is for children, as they are likely to put their hands in their mouths after petting an animal with chemical residue on their fur, ingesting the hazardous residues.
The NRDC filed the lawsuit against the companies in California Superior Court in Alameda County last year for failing to comply with California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act.
This law prohibits businesses from knowingly exposing consumers to any chemical “known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive harm” without proper warning.
“The bottom line is — these products are so dangerous that they don’t belong on store shelves,” said Rotkin-Ellman.
“EPA, PETCO, PetSmart and the rest of the pet product industry know this and should do the right thing. Ultimately the only way to truly protect people and animals from the toxic, cancer-causing chemicals in flea collars is to ban them from the products altogether.”
For those of you who might want to get the lowdown on safer pet products and practices, the NRDC offers a free online flea and tick product guide ranking more than 125 products, categorizing them by the level of their potential health threat.
Until Next Time, Angela Guss

Source