Pesticide Danger for Family Pets

The suburban NY neighbor notification laws, in which some areas require homeowners to notify their neighbors 48 hours before pesticides are used on a lawn, were passed in part because of the increased consumer awareness of evidence that toxic garden products can harm humans.

New studies suggest that the family pet can also be harmed by the kind of pesticides and fertilizers often used on suburban lawns.

Several studies, including The Cancer Registry and Surveillance System for Companion Animals, a project at Cornell University that is mapping the incidence of cancer in companion animals in Nassau County, as well as in central and western New York, has noted a dramatic increase in lymphoma cases in recent years.

Among the suspected culprits: environmental contaminants such as the weed killer 2,4-D.

COMMENTS ()