The Daytona Beach Kennel Club, which runs a local chapter of Greyhound Pets of America, has been revealed to be using the termite control chemical Termidor on its animals and has announced that it is going to be discontinuing the practice. The announcement comes hard on the heels of an investigation on the club from state authorities after a disgruntled former employee of the local Greyhound Pets of America filed reports with both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as well as the Department of Agriculture that drew attention to the club’s employment of the pesticide used for termite extermination as a flea repellent for its animals.
According to the former employee, Patrick Donellon, he discovered that the termite control chemical was being mixed with water and alcohol in equal amounts and being slathered on top of dogs’ backs. When asked about the allegation by the press, the club affirmed Donellon’s statement and also gave an explanation.
Apparently, most people in the industry use the solution for their flea repellent—at least, according to representatives from the Kennel Club. The Club even claimed that it had been using the solution on its dogs for years and without any appreciable side effects. While there actually are flea and tick repellents on the market, they are actually far more expensive than the current solution, with all costs factored in. The Kennel Club’s representatives also explained that the chemical makeup of Termidor and those actual flea repellents was very nearly the same, making it an acceptable substitute for those more expensive chemicals. The representatives were also quick to state that the Club would never use a harmful chemical on dogs, given the purpose of their organization.
Department of Agriculture officials seem to disagree, though. Representatives from the Department visited the Club following the complaints filed by Donellon and also said to the press that no matter what the Club argued, it was still standing against pesticide laws, which are actually very strict in the US. According to the pesticide use laws, pesticide products such as Termidor have to be labelled with their purpose and restricted to it, in order to avoid accidents and contamination of groundwater and various resources from lax use. Representatives also stated that although there might be a similarity in chemical composition between Termidor and a flea repellent such as, say, Frontline, there were also sufficient “inert ingredients” to warrant differentiation during a violation of the stringent use policies. Chemical reactions during mixing are also issues of concern.
Both the DoA and the OSHA ran investigations on the Club, and now the Club has announced that it is going to be discontinuing the use of the termite control chemical on its pets in perpetuity.
