Local veterinary hospital weighs in on report linking Seresto collars to animal deaths

ATHENS, Pa. (WBNG) — A recent report from the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, in conjunction with USA Today, linked Seresto flea and tick collars to nearly 1,700 deaths and numerous other injuries.

Now, many are wondering why the collars haven’t been taken off the shelves.

12 News reached out to a local veterinarian to find out how the report should be interpreted.

Staff at Athens Animal Hospital in Athens, Pa. say the report is complicated, and before making any purchasing decisions based on it’s findings it’s important to consider how it was constructed.

“It took all of the incident reports and said ‘here are all of these incidents’ without necessarily looking at the causes,” said Abby Davenport, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at the hospital.

With no official recall issued, she said if you’ve seen the report in the headlines and are wondering if you should stop using the collar on your pet, it’s important to do your own homework and read the report carefully.

“I would suggest reading the article, seeing where they got these numbers from, how they came up with their conclusions, and recognizing that correlation does not always equal causation,” she said.

She stresses one thing the article did not dive into thoroughly enough is the impact that widespread counterfeit collars could have on the statistics.

She said if you read the report and determine you still want to use the collar, you should make sure the one you…