Latest news with #dogbeach
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Pet owners warned after three dogs die at popular Aussie beach: 'Be very careful'
A warning has been issued to pet owners after three dogs died recently at a popular off-leash beach, with the only common factor being that the animals played with coconuts lying around on the sand. In the space of only two weeks, three dogs passed away after visiting Pallarenda Dog Beach. Townsville Council told Yahoo News that "while the exact cause [of the deaths] remains unknown", it is believed that naturally occurring toxins often found in mouldy coconuts led to the deaths. Despite receiving intensive care, the dogs died from acute liver and kidney failure after being rushed to a vet, with two of the dogs belonging to the same devastated owner, the Townsville Bulletin reports. Authorities are now urging owners to keep their dogs away from the fallen coconuts. "Pet owners are advised to keep their dogs away until further notice and prevent their pets from chewing or playing with fallen coconuts or drinking from puddles," the council spokesperson said, confirming an investigation was underway. 🏖️ Pet owner's urgent warning after dog almost dies following trip to beach 😲 Footage of 'terrifying' backyard moment in Aussie pool shocks millions 🦮 Aussie's five-year legal battle with council over pet dogs Dr Taleta Hompas, the Managing Director for NQ Care where the dogs were treated, told the ABC the deaths were likely caused by aflatoxin, a toxin produced by moulds growing on nuts or grain. "The assumption that we've made is due to playing with those old coconuts, so those coconuts might have had some of this toxin within them and the dogs have ingested that while they were playing with it," Dr Hompas said. "Our suspicion based on blood work and the clinical signs of the dogs is that the most likely cause of death is something called aflatoxin." Alongside Townsville City Council, Dr Hompas is pushing awareness of the incidents in a bid to stop any more dogs dying. "What we really want is to raise people's awareness when they are at the dog beach, and just be very careful of what their dogs are potentially coming in contact with or ingesting," she said. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Irish Times
23-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Dog business has no business at the beach
Can you bring your dog to the beach? It depends on where you are going. Some beaches with designated bathing areas restrict dog access, especially during the summer bathing season, which is running now and until September 15th. This isn't because the council doesn't like your dog. The restrictions are there to reduce the nuisance risk of dogs being let off the leash and allowed to run free – especially when children are around. There's also the public health risk from the potential for dog fouling. You see, dog poo contains a lot of dangerous pathogens that can pose a significant threat to public health when it's not picked up by pet owners, says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). READ MORE This threat is particularly high on beaches where people are more likely to come into direct contact with dog faeces through beach activities and swimming. It's the EPA's job to keep us safe by monitoring water quality in designated bathing areas. Poo pollution in bathing water can come from a number of sources, such as sewage, but it definitely comes from dogs too, research tells us. And it turns out a little dog poo can go a long way to making you sick. There are actually enough bacteria in one dog poo to contaminate an Olympic-size swimming pool – that's around three million litres of water – to a level that would fail to meet the 'excellent' water quality standard, says the EPA. [ Blue flags: Record number of Irish beaches and marinas win award for 2025 Opens in new window ] Indeed, a single gram of dog poo can contain up to 23 million faecal coliform bacteria. Dog waste can also spread parasites such as hookworms, whipworms, roundworms, ringworms, tapeworms, parvovirus and salmonella. That's not a fun day at the beach for anyone. Most dog owners are responsible, keeping their dogs on leads, monitoring them closely in case of fouling, and bagging and disposing of poo in the right bin. But despite fines of €150, it's not uncommon to see dog poo buried in the sand or hidden under stones, according to the EPA's beach guide, b . Maybe pet owners think it will eventually just 'go away', or be washed out by the sea, and that will be fine? We can thank Acclimatize, a project by UCD researchers in 2021, for really taking a deep dive into matter. They looked at the effect of dog poo on seaside bathing waters and how that can impact public health. The team first tried to estimate the levels of and intestinal enterococci [bacteria] in the poo of dogs, by collecting faecal samples from dog shelters in Leinster. [ What is the water quality like at your local beach? Use our table to check Opens in new window ] There are almost three billion colony-forming units, or live bacteria, for and 350 million of them for intestinal enterococci in just one dog poo, their research found. The Acclimatize team then set out to estimate the impact of dog fouling on bathing water quality in Sandymount Strand and Merrion Strand in Dublin, and Donabate and Portrane beaches in north Co Dublin. They carried out dog fouling surveys on each beach first to estimate the average amount of dog poo being left behind in a day. Dog fouling at Sandymount, Merrion, Portrane and Donabate can greatly contribute to failing bathing water quality in Dublin Bay, they concluded. Their analysis of bathing water samples showed direct evidence that dog fouling can elevate fecal levels above the 'failure' threshold under the EU bathing water directive criteria. Just one dog poo has the potential to fail an area of water 0.5m deep and approximately the size of a tennis court. [ Novel scheme where householders get rewarded for basically not doing things Opens in new window ] More needs to be done to reduce dog fouling on beaches, Acclimatize concluded. This means more bins, more dog wardens and more education and awareness among dog owners of their responsibility to more closely monitor their dogs and pick up after them. Dog business has no business at the beach, says the EPA. You can check if the beach you are visiting allows dogs by visiting . It has up-to-date water quality measurements of your favourite beaches there too. The message to dog owners is clear: clean up after your pet for your health and that of other beach users.
