16/07/2021
Anyone that feeds raw or frozen meat must ready this, your dog could be in danger
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4549470231729777&id=497336520276522
Statewide pet-food outbreak alert as Victoria grapples with worst dog death toll
ABC Gippsland / By Emma Field
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-16/dog-deaths-victoria-toxic-raw-meat-/100276936
Agriculture Victoria has issued a statewide alert over raw dog meat after another three dogs died from liver toxicity, making this the worst animal death toll linked to pet food since veterinarians started recording such fatalities a decade ago.
Key points:
📌The ABC understands 12 dogs have now died in Victoria from liver failure
📌The common link with all the deaths is raw pet meat from a Gippsland knackery
📌Authorities are investigating and have ruled out infection and other common possibilities
Watch your dogs for:
🐾Reduced appetite
🐾Increased thirst
🐾Vomiting
🐾Yellowing around the eyes and gums
If your dog has any of these symptoms, call a vet.
Source: Veterinarian Jade Hammer
Twelve dogs have died from illness linked to meat sourced from an eastern Victorian meatworks, which authorities are investigating.
At least 52 pets have now fallen ill and all are believed to have eaten raw meat from the Maffra Knackery, which also trades as Backmans Meats and Backmans Greyhound Supplies.
The meat is also delivered direct to dog owners around the state.
Last week, a Bairnsdale pet food retailer issued an "urgent product recall" of 10kg Bulk Coarse Beef, urging customers on social media to "please stop feeding to your pets and return what is left to us".
Meat processing regulator PrimeSafe is yet to determine whether the meat is the cause of the liver failure but says it has been linked to each dog that fell ill.
Agriculture Victoria today warned pet owners who bought fresh or frozen raw pet meat sourced from Gippsland between May 31 and July 3 to visit a veterinarian immediately if their dog became unwell.
The most recent deaths are also linked to the Gippsland meat. One of those dogs was fed meat bought from a store in Seaford in Melbourne's southeast.
A grieving owner who has lost two dogs in recent days joined calls for tighter regulations for the pet food industry.
Authorities confirm 52 cases
Agriculture Victoria is investigating the cause of the dog deaths, along with PrimeSafe.
It confirmed 10 dog deaths from severe liver damage, of 45 cases in total and said it was aware of seven "anecdotal cases". At least one of those seven dogs is linked to the meat but died and was buried before an autopsy could be carried out.
However, the ABC has since spoken to more owners whose dogs have died after eating the suspect raw meat, taking the death toll to 12.
"Agriculture Victoria is investigating why a cluster of dogs is suffering from severe liver disease in the Gippsland and Mornington Peninsula areas and working with other agencies to identify potential causes," an Agriculture Victoria spokeswoman said.
And while they have not yet identified the cause of the liver disease, infection and other common possibilities have been ruled out.
Owners mourn 'family members'
On Sunday, Emma Vorozilchak and her partner Jody Thomas made the heartbreaking decision to euthanase their labrador Olive, five days after the six-year-old dog started vomiting.
Ms Vorozilchak, from the Mornington Peninsula, southeast of Melbourne, said the veterinarian treating Olive suspected the dog's food was the cause of severe liver damage.
She said they bought a 40kg bag of chopped beef on June 22 from Backmans Greyhound Supplies store in Seaford.
Her partner called the store on July 9 when Olive was gravely ill, he was told the meat was sourced from Maffra but the business "spent over $20,000 testing the meat and it came back fine".
The couple's veterinarian bills reached more than $6,000 and when Olive failed to improve they had her put down.
"We couldn't afford (more vet bills) as we have a small family now," said Ms Vorozilchak, who has an eight-week-old baby.
The ABC called Backmans Greyhound Supplies to be told to “call the owners Maffra Knackery”.
The ABC has made calls and a visit to the knackery and management has declined to respond.
Sue Graham, from Moe South, lost her pet greyhound, Pash, to the liver illness on July 7.
She and her husband put down their other greyhound, Pebbles, yesterday.
Ms Graham said both dogs had been fed beef from the Maffra Knackery, which was delivered directly to her home.
"As there are no regulations regarding pet food, how can people sleep easily at night," Ms Graham said.
"These are not just dogs, they are valued family members, workmates and necessary companions."
Ms Graham said she had been calling vet clinics across eastern Victoria to warn them about the issue because "pet owners need to know".
PrimeSafe revealed this week it asked a Bairnsdale retailer and the Maffra Knackery to issue a voluntary recall. The retailer, Doggie Den, complied with a social media post, but the ABC understands the knackery is yet to do so.
The ABC has spoken to the Latrobe Valley owners of another greyhound which died, and also consumed meat from the Gippsland knackery bought at a Bairnsdale retailer. The pet owner has been in contact with authorities.
Vets demand mandatory reporting
The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) set up a system more than a decade ago for members to report potential pet food problems called PetFast, and the latest dog deaths triggered a notification to their database to warn vets about the issue.
AVA spokeswoman Doctor Melanie Latter said pet food standards should be compulsory for domestically produced and imported pet food.
"The AVA has been calling for better regulation of the pet food industry for many years," she said.
"We strongly recommend that there should be regulatory mechanisms in place for mandatory recall and investigation of adverse events that are associated with pet food."
The Pet Food Industry Association of Australia (PFIAA) are in lock step with the AVA.
"This sad event underlines why Australian pet food would benefit from regulation," PFIAA executive manager Carolyn Macgill said.
"Our goal is for mandatory rather than voluntary standards and recall protocols to be established for all pet food manufacturers and marketers in Australia."
Deaths come years after inquiry
The Victorian outbreak comes after the federal government's response last month to a 2018 Senate inquiry into pet food safety, which revealed it had little appetite for wide-scale change
The 2018 inquiry was ordered after more than 100 dogs were struck down with an incurable illness in 2017 and 2018, linked to Advance Dermocare dry dog food.
At least nine Victoria Police dogs were part of the contamination scare, and eight dogs had to be euthanased.
The inquiry recommended mandatory reporting when there's an adverse event linked to pet food, plus a mandatory standard on the production, testing and labelling of all pet food.
On June 18 this year the Federal Government responded to the inquiry tabled in October 2018.
The government 'disagreed' with two of the recommendations, including mandatory standards.
"To make it mandatory would require legislative change or development of new legislation along with the establishment of a regulatory body that would be responsible for enforcement and non-compliance," the government response said.
The response also said enforcing a mandatory pet food standard "rests with state and territory governments".
A working group overseen by Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, which includes the AVA and PFIAA was set up to consider the inquiry findings plus further review pet food regulation.
A department statement said it's still writing a final report from the working group which was "expected to go to agriculture senior officials at the end of July, after which the report would be considered at the agriculture ministers forum."
"Regulatory options will require the support of, and implementation by, state and territory governments."
