The dog of a 22-year-old from the Linz-Land district should have eaten a poison bait in the popular local recreation area, the animal had to be put down on Friday. A veterinarian filed a complaint on Thursday after suspicious pieces of sausage and meat as well as raisins were found in the Wasserwald on Tuesday and handed over to her for examination.
The venom is believed to be metaldehyde, a type of slug pellets — a colorless and tasteless substance used against slugs and field slugs. Metaldehyde, approved as a plant protection product in the EU, dries out contaminated organisms from the inside and thus acts as a highly potent pest control agent. Designed as a poison bait, it can also affect animals such as cats and dogs when dosed appropriately.
So far there is no trace of the perpetrator, the Kleinmünchen Police Inspectorate is asking for information on Tel. A temporary warning has been issued to all pet owners in the affected area.
Several incidents in the metropolitan area
There have already been several incidents in the greater Linz area in the recent past: in December, a total of seven house cats were probably killed by poisoned baits in the magic valley in Leonding. Based on the symptoms of the poisoned animals and the expertise of the treating veterinarian, the poisoning may have been triggered by over-the-counter mouse or rat poison. In the spring of last year, poisonous bait disguised as a treat for dogs was found in the Wasserwald and other local recreation areas in Linz.
The police pay more attention to suspects, but the executive cannot work miracles either. “Until the incidents of last week, however, there were no accumulations in Linz in the past few months,” says Linz City Police Commander Karl Pogutter when asked by OÖN.
App with alerts
“Such incidents always cause great fear among cat and dog owners that their protégés could one day catch a poisoned bait,” said veterinarian Fulya Safak, who referred to the specially developed PetLEO app in OÖN at the end of January. The main function of the app is to warn pet owners locally of poisoned baits, rat poison, slug pellets or razor blades hidden in sausages.
How it works is simple: the user can specify an area on the app’s map and will receive push notifications if danger is imminent. Users can enter reports with a photo and precise location information themselves, and PetLEO employees add poisoned bait reports from official bodies. (sedi)
Source: Nachrichten
