Dog owner’s petition over pesticides

A dog owner has started up a petition to ban the use of a pesticide as local councils begin grass cutting for the summer season.

More than 1,600 people have so far signed Teresa Watson’s online petition.

Teresa’s dog Morty took ill and she said her vet told her it was down to pesticide poisoning.

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She said: “The vet also told me she had seen hundreds of similar cases since the council started cutting the grass.”

The pesticide glyphosate has been the subject of several lawsuits in America. However, the chemical is legal under EU law and regularly used by councils across Scotland. This includes East Dunbartonshire.

After walking Mort in green space in North Lanarkshire, Teresa noticed some strange behaviour from her pup, who had been playing in the grass.

She said: “The first thing we noticed was Morty licking my arm and me coming out in a rash. I have owned dogs for years, so I knew that it wasn’t anything to do with him, so we monitored him from there. Over the next few days, he began vomiting and we decided to take him to the vet when it didn’t stop.

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“They told us it was pesticide poisoning and gave us some tablets to help settle him down. The vet also told me she had seen hundreds of similar cases since the council started cutting the grass.”

East Dunbartonshire Council’s Depute Chief Executive, Place, Neighbourhood & Corporate Assets Thomas Glen, said: “The council uses glyphosate as part of its maintenance service. It is a non-residual herbicide which primarily affects plant growth and is used to control weeds.

“The use of this herbicide is done in compliance with the manufacturer’s recommendations, guidelines and applied by trained staff using appropriate equipment.”

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