We have received a number of calls recently where pets have been exposed to bromethalin. Bromethalin is a pale yellow, odourless rodenticide developed to act as a single dose.
Bromethalin is a biocide and is not approved for use in the EU. No UK products are available. However, it appears that products are being purchased by members of the public via UK online selling sites, particularly Amazon where several products are available.
It is often sold as a mole killer ‘worm bait’ product as multipacks of yellow sticks . There are no approved mole killers available to members of the public in the UK.
Clinical effects of bromethalin are due to cerebral and spinal cord oedema and vacuolisation of white matter. There are two clinical pictures. Dogs may develop a paralytic syndrome (common) or a convulsant syndrome (rarer), depending on the dose. Cats develop the paralytic syndrome irrespective of dose. Animals with mild signs (depression, weakness, ataxia) can take days or weeks to recover.
The prognosis is poor in severe cases.
If you have a suspected bromethalin toxicity please contact us for advice, keep all the product packaging and full details of the source of the product. We are currently working with the HSE and trading standards to resolve the issue.
