The RSPCA has ruled out one of three potential causes of the deadly Buddina dog poisonings as investigations continue.
Nine dogs were confirmed to have presented with poisoning symptoms after visiting areas in and around Buddina Beach between August 2 – 19.
Five dogs tragically passed away, sparking an in-depth RSPCA investigation into the incidents.
RSPCA investigators initially stated the cause of the dog poisonings would fall into three likely scenarios; deliberate, accidental or environmental.
But Sunshine Coast RSPCA Inspector Julia Steley has now ruled out accidental poisoning.
Ms Steley said the investigation was ongoing and unfortunately there was still no clear indication of the cause.
“Given the range of poisonings that we are aware of is roughly over a two-week period, I suggest that accidental could be ruled out,” Ms Steley said.
“The area affected was a beach setting, which being subject to the tides would likely cause any accidental poisoning on the beach to be washed away.”
The investigating team’s findings leave the possibility of either a deliberate act of poisoning or an environmental factor.
Ms Steley revealed she had previously investigated several incidents of deliberate poisonings in public areas and none had been spread over such a lengthy time frame.
“In each other case, members of the public have found items of food in those public places,” she said.
“It is unusual that with the media saturation regarding the beach poisonings, nobody has yet found any items of food along the beach.
She said environmental poisoning was still on the table.
“There has been some work undertaken in this arena however to date no positive result that would identify the source of the poisoning,” she said.
“That said, I have not ruled out either deliberate or environmental.”
Earlier in the investigation, the Sunshine Coast Council narrowed down the poison location to the area around Beach Access 210 on Pacific Blvd, Buddina.
This is the area all five dogs attended at some time between August 2 – 7.
She said it was important to keep the incident in the public eye as much as possible.
“The more media coverage given will ensure the most dog owners in the area are made aware of the situation, which may prevent any further incidents of dogs ingesting poison,” she said.
There have not been any other cases of dogs presenting with poisoning symptoms since August 19.
Relating to this case, if you believe your dog may have ingested something toxic please report it to the RSPCA on 1300 ANIMAL or QPS.
Council encourages dog owners to remain vigilant and:
- keep their dogs in sight at all times while in off leash areas and monitor what they are putting in their mouths
- ensure their dog is responsive to voice commands before letting them off leash so they can be called away from unknown food sources
- contact their vet at the first sign of any symptoms such as gastro, breathlessness or being listless.
