Alert over pet ‘cures’ made of diseased flesh
Animal experts warn beliefs of ‘anti-vaccine’ owners are putting lives of dogs and cats at risk
MILLIONS of dogs and cats are at risk of avoidable death from an increase in unproven anti-vaccination “remedies” being sold online, the RSPCA has warned.
Amazon this week agreed to remove advertisements for products made from the diseased flesh of dead animals after a Sunday Telegraph investigation revealed misleading boasts claiming the “homoeopathic nosodes” provide immunity from fatal conditions.
Last night the RSPCA said the rise in online marketing of “anti-vax” materials risked “horrific suffering” among pets whose owners reject conventional jabs.
Research by the charity PDSA found that in 2017, 25 per cent of dogs – around 2.3million – had not undergone a primary vaccination course, more than double the proportion of 12 per cent the previous year. A similar increase was recorded in cats, with 35 per cent – around 3.6million – unvaccinated in 2017, compared with 18 per cent in 2016.
The treatments, now removed from Amazon, included Herpes Combination 50g, described by the site as a “homoeopathic nosode” that will provide “immunity” to litters of pups if the tablets are fed to their pregnant mother.
The nosodes are produced by Phytopet, an online animal herbal remedies company based in North Wales.
Such preparations can be made from diseased tissues and fluids including pus, faeces, nasal discharge, blood and saliva. But opting for homoeopathic remedies in favour of vaccines causes fatal viral diseases such as parvovirus in dogs, the RSPCA warned.
Contracting herpes virus can prompt a bitch to her abort her puppies or cause an entire litter of young puppies to die over 24 hours. Parvovirus can be vaccinated against, but around nine in 10 dogs that contract the disease will die.
The British Veterinary Association said avoiding vaccinations was also causing zoonotic diseases, such as canine leptospirosis, which can be infectious to humans.
“This is truly frightening,” said Danny Chambers, a council member of the Royal College of Veterinary Sur- geons. “Safe and effective vaccines exist for these diseases. Using unregulated and scientifically implausible remedies bought from Amazon will leave your pet with no protection and at a high risk of contracting them.”
RSPCA veterinary director Caroline Allen said: “We are very concerned to see unlicensed, potentially dangerous and ineffective treatments being sold online and would urge people to report these products to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).
The products remain available despite a Government pledge eight years ago to clamp down on nosodes.” After being alerted to the nosodes by The Sunday Telegraph, a spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which oversees the VMD, said: “It is illegal to sell products making false medicinal claims and we work closely with companies such as Amazon to stop this.”
A spokesman for Amazon said: “All marketplace sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who don’t will be subject to action including potential removal of their account. The products in question are no longer available.” Phytopet was approached for comment but did not respond.