Letters

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Email: field.secretary@futurenet.com

LETTERS MAY BE EDITED FOR CLARITY OR SPACE

A TOPICAL ISSUE

Nigel Brooks makes a valid point when stating any pour-on flea treatment for dogs should be applied post-swim (Letters, August). Yet in his book The Garden Jungle, Professor David Goulson (a name that will be familiar to keen entomologists) states the average spot-on treatment contains sufficient imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid, per dose to theoretically kill 60 million honeybees. Fido swimming in a river is no less of an issue than his or her basket being washed in a machine. Water treatment fails to break down the neonicotinoids, so they end up in our rivers, adding to the pressure on river invertebrates.

There is no need for any dog (or cat) owner to use spot-on flea treatment when there are perfectly good alternatives. NexGard Spectra works perfectly on our spaniel. Yes, it requires a prescription (a pharma scandal,