Warning to dog owners as toxic palm oil still washing up on beach

LUMPS of potentially toxic palm oil are still being found on Cleethorpes beach.

Dog walkers have been warned to keep their pets away from the substance, which can be toxic to animals. The poisonous substance, which look like chalky rocks from a distance, was first spotted on the beach last week and is believed to have washed ashore from ships. Cleethorpes Beach Safety team planned a thorough sweep of the beach last Thursday, but anyone walking a dog still needs to be on their guard.

Any sightings of palm oil should be reported to the beach safety team immediately, and people shouldn’t try to remove it themselves. Cleethorpes Wildlife Rescue have posted on Facebook: “We have come across palm oil while on walks along Cleethorpes Beach.

“Palm oil looks chalky and firm but is actually rather soft and crumbles with ease - if ingested by dogs, foxes and other animals, it can cause a toxic reaction and can even be fatal! If you spot what you believe to be palm oil, don’t touch it. contact Cleethorpes Beach Safety during their opening hours on 01472 323356 or via their social media.

“If you’re unable to get in contact with Beach Safety, you can contact our rescue and where we can, we will come and dispose of it.” Palm oil is found in many foods, soaps, shampoos, and biofuels and isn’t harmful to humans.

Palm oil can be released legally by ships at sea and can then become contaminated with other waste products before it washes up on the shore. A spokesperson for the beach safety team told Grimsby Telegraph last week said: “We think it is coming from ships offshore. It isn’t something that we see that often on our beaches but it is widely used in foods, soaps and some fuels.

“The lumps themselves are waxy and soft but from a distance you might just think it is a chalky rock so we need dog owners to stay vigilant.

“It is very toxic for dogs. It isn’t necessarily the palm oil itself that is dangerous, it is all the other substances that it can mix with as it makes its way to shore.

One of the large lumps of palm oil found on the beach yesterday by the safety team.