The Congressional Subcommittee is seeking to recall the Seresto flea, the white collar

A congressional subcommittee asked Elanco to voluntarily recall its flea and tick collars, following the March 2 story by Midwestern Center for Investigative Reporting and USA TODAY about thousands of accident reports about pets and human harm associated with collar use. Developed by Bayer and now sold by Elanco, it is one of the best-selling flea and tick collars in the United States. The collar works by releasing small amounts of pesticides into the animal for several months at a time. The repeller is supposed to kill fleas, ticks, and other pests, but is safe for cats and dogs. On Thursday, Rep. Raja Krishnamurthy (Democrat from Illinois), chair of the Economic and Consumer Policy Subcommittee, sent letters to Elanco, asking the company to recall the product and issuing full refunds to customers, and Bayer asking the company to disclose information about the product’s toxicity. Since the collar was sold starting in 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has received more than 75,000 incident reports about pets and the human harm associated with using the collar. These accident reports include at least 1,698 pet deaths and 907 human damage. “We think the actual number of deaths and injuries is much higher, given that the average consumer will not know reporting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about pet harm, an agency that appears to have nothing to do with consumer pets. Seresto collars were developed by the German pharmaceutical giant Bayer, but The company sold its animal health division, which includes the Seresto collar, to Elanco for $ 7.5 billion in 2020. In 2019, Bayer reported more than $ 300 million in revenue on white-collar sales, and in response to a request for comment on this story, it said. Elanco, through spokeswoman Keri McGrath, is cooperating with the investigation.In an emailed statement Thursday evening, McGrath denied that the collar was responsible for widespread harm to pets, saying that accident reports did not necessarily imply that a collar was causing the problem and that Accident reports account for only 0.3% of the more than 25 million pets used. McGrath said the subcommittee’s request “is based on recent misleading media coverage.” There is no medical or scientific basis for initiating a recall of Seresto collars. We are disappointed that this causes confusion and unfounded fear for pet owners trying to protect their pets from fleas and ticks, Dr. Tony Rumschlag, Senior Director of Technical Consulting at Elanco, said in a statement that their pets are fleas and ticks, and Bayer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The subcommittee’s letter also requests companies to release documents that include collars, including internal communications about collars, contacts with federal regulators and any information disclosed in the Seresto sale to Elanco about pet toxicity and transferring liability for pet harm. The Environmental Protection Agency regulates collars because they contain pesticides. Seresto contains two active pesticide ingredients: imidacloprid and flumethrin. The Environmental Protection Agency took no action to let consumers know about any association with human or pet harm, according to the Midwestern Center for Investigative Reporting / USA TODAY investigation, and Karen McCormack, a retired EPA employee who worked as a scientist and communications officer, said: Most accidents compared to any pet pesticide product you have ever seen. “The EPA appears to be turning a blind eye to this problem, and after seven years of increasing number of accidents, they are telling the public that they are continuing to watch,” she said. “But I think this is a huge problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.” The Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy Subordinate to the House Oversight and Reform Committee, the main oversight committee in the US House of Representatives. According to the letter, the commission has “broad powers to investigate“ any matter ”at“ any time ”under House Rule X.” In the wake of the March 2 story, Amazon said, Who has received numerous complaints about pet collars-related harm, through a spokeswoman who says she is “reviewing” the product. This story is a collaboration between USA TODAY and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. The center is an independent, non-profit editorial room covering the agribusiness, Big Ag And related issues USA TODAY funds a fellowship at the center to expand agribusiness and its impact on societies.