Dog owners warned over deadly palm oil ‘fatbergs’

DOG owners have been warned to keep their pets away from deadly palm oil ‘fatbergs’ being washed up on beaches.

The congealed lumps of fat – often a by-product of the cosmetics or food industry – have a diesel smell which is irresistible to dogs but they are often covered in lethal germs. They are being carried to UK shores from the Caribbean following storms.

Two weeks ago Nicki Wyatt took her beagle-springer spaniel cross called Cheddar to Seascale beach in Cumbria. The 11month-old bit a fatberg and had to be injected to induce vomiting as the palm oil can cause liver and kidney failure in dogs.

Further south, 50kg of suspected palm oil was cleared from Lytham St Annes in Lancashire at the weekend. It has also been spotted in Wales and along the South Coast. Penmellyn Vets in Newquay, Cornwall, is among several practices to issue warnings after staff had to give lifesaving treatment to five dogs. And a number of councils have put up signs on beaches urging dog walkers to keep pets on leads and to report fatbergs.

Several dogs died after palm oil blobs washed up in Cornwall in 2014.