MIAMI (Legal Newsline) - The makers of Seresto flea and tick collars face a class action lawsuit that says approximately 1,700 pets have died as a result of using them.
Regina Bullard and lawyers at three firms - Milberg Coleman, Reese LLP and Williams Dirks Dameron - sued Bayer Healthcare and Elanco Animal Health on Sept. 13 in Florida federal court. The case comes two months after a Congressional subcommittee hearing on consumer complaints.
The companies have not issued a recall and have continued to market the collars as safe, though the complaint notes Canada has banned their sale.
"Other countries have required that severe warnings be placed on the packaging of the Seresto packaging to warn consumers of the risk, such as the word 'POISON' in large font on the front of the packaging," the suit says.
"At no point have Defendants disclosed this information to United States consumers. To the contrary, they have maintained and represented that Seresto collars are safe for pets to use.
"Despite Defendants’ claims, Seresto collars have resulted in millions of dollars in damages for pet owners—both in the form of collars that they overpaid for or would have never purchased had consumers known of Seresto’s dangers, and also in veterinarian and other medical expenses incurred by pet owners with pets injured by the Seresto collar and its pesticides."