1080 poison in public areas

[Ilona & Gina]

Yesterday, we went for a walk in an off-leash area, especially designed for dogs, with poop bags and bins and all. Somebody told us to go there, and we hadn’t been there before. The area is adjacent to some bush land, which is not fenced off. Fine, we thought, that’ll be fun for the ‘kids’. So we had a good run, until right at the end, we spotted a small signpost “Warning – 1080 bait”. The dogs were with us all the time, under our supervision, but, of course, we left. Not only can that stuff be ingested; it can also be inhaled or absorbed through wounds and skin abrasions.

 

Arriving at home, I went on the Internet and learnt that 1080 is highly poisonous, there is no antidote, and it can take up to six hours to show signs of poisoning. Of course, the following six hours were a nightmare. 1080 is used across Australia, and on publicly accessible land.

 

“The kids” are well and kicking, but there is more to it. We feed our dogs with kangaroo meat, which is said to be ‘harvested’ – God knows from  where and what that means. How do we know that these kangaroos didn’t ingest 1080?

 

How are things in other countries such as Germany or England (apart from the fact that you don't feed kangaroo to your dogs...)Do forestry people lay out bait in the forest?

 

My question is also addressed to our hunters – your dogs roam bushland, don’t they? How do you protect them?

 

And aren't there laws on that?

 

 

[Margaret Sierakowski]

I have stayed at several different Travelodges, and found plastic baitboxes with rat poison close to the buildings .
All the Travelodges in Dublin have these baitboxes outside. Dogs can chew up plastic baitboxes, or throw them about until the bait falls out
So be careful if you let your dog off lead when you are staying at a Travelodge

[Susan Stone]

Oops, thanks for the warning!

[Iva Keene]

We used to live in Adelaide where they used similar baits. My mum-in-law had a Jack Russel, who we took for a walk up Mount Lofty. We had him off the lead and he kept ducking in and out of the bushes. He seemed fine when we got home. We went to have a coffee about 4-5 hours after the walk for 20 min. When we got back he was dead. The autopsy couldn't show what he died of and the vet didn't rule out the poisonous baits. He was 3 years old. :(

We live in Switzerland now and have an Irish Setter. We take him for many walks through the forest but we haven't seen any warning signs for baits. We are not hunters so I don't know for sure, but I think it's pretty safe here as there are no introduced 'wildlife' predator here as there are in Australia.

I hope you'll find a safe spot for your 'kids' to play!

[Ilona & Gina]

Iva, your story is heart breaking. You try to make sure that your dogs is safe, but then, you can't protect your darling 100 per cent. You must have felt so awful, especially as it must have broken yours and your mother-in-law's heart.

I wish you a good and happy life in Switzerland. I lived in Germany and know the country quite well. The mountains are so beautfil, and then the clean air...does your setter like the snow?
Ilona

[Susan Stone]

Living in Switzerland we may suffer from quite severe restrictions as dog owners, but at least one thing we do not normally need to worry about is poisoned baits for vermin or other wildlife. Trapping and baiting is illegal here.
(Yes, we do have many many rules but some of them are good! ;-))

[Ilona & Gina]

Hi Susan,

Great, Switzerland is a beautiful country!

Re strict laws: We live in Western Australia, and our dogs are virtually banned from public spaces. The area we walk our dogs we have to share with sport clubs, which means that, on weekends and evenings, we don't have any access to the park. We are talking about a country whose people are obsessed with their sport.

We have bushland (beware of the bait) and dog beaches that you can run up and down in ten minutes.

However, we cant' complain. My dog Gina and I are lucky! We know the Rangers (the law and order people on our beaches) and they smile when Gina and I go jogging on "no-go" areas (ususally it costs $100 Aussie Dollars). They know that Gina will always stay by me when we approach people, that she is under control, and that I will always pick up after her.

But if you think beaches are safer than ares in which they lay out bait - no such luck. We have dunes, in which dogs can find snakes. We have blow fish, which are poisonous. And we have - get seated - sharks. Recently, a shark came into shallow water and tried to grab a dog - lucky the dog was faster! Fortunately, we don't have crocodiles in our beautiful Rockingham:))

You see, we really need to have our dogs under control, for their own safety, which may, comes to think of it, be a good thing...

[Norma Pape]

Hi Ilona, We live in Perth and like you we have seen signs warning of baited areas. Some are so old that we are never sure whether they are current but have to be careful anyway. I also notice that they are often close to public footpaths, especially down south and have wondered if they are just used to frighten dog owners into keeping dogs on leads. Re kangaroo meat. Because of my concerns over contaminated foods I am trying to find dog foods with no additives or chemicals and no hormones used in meat. Anyone out there any ideas on this????

[Ilona & Gina]

THi Norma, Try Barleyfield Beef. You find them on the Internet. I don't want to advertise for any special company, that's whay I don't give you any more details. They are not organic, but claim to have hormone free meat. They are north of Perth in Midland and do deliveries, but as far as I recall, you have to buy for more than $300. And they are pretty expensive.

Other than that - I am still doing research on this.