Testing Of Kovan Field Didn’t Uncover Any Substance Responsible For Dog Poisoning
Early last month, two dogs passed away after suffering from seizures.
Both of them had visited a field in the Kovan area before their demise.
The authorities have now said that they “most likely” died from poisoning.
Suspected poisoning victims Palo (left) and Sunkiss. Source: @bernedoodlesage on Instagram and @sunkiss_thecavachon on Instagram
Nevertheless, the field has been reopened to be the public on Sunday (12 Nov).
AVS & SLA conclude probe into dog deaths
In a joint statement sent to MS News on Saturday (11 Nov), the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said they’d concluded investigations into the dog deaths.
The probe, which started on 7 Oct after alerts from the community, involved testing environmental samples from the field at Parry Avenue and surrounding areas.
The owners who lost their dogs and their attending veterinarians were also interviewed to gather relevant information.
Poisoning caused Kovan field dog deaths, based on clinical info
Unfortunately, there were no samples available from the two deceased dogs to establish how they fell and ill and passed away.
That’s because their remains were cremated before the investigations started.
However, based on their clinical information that was available, AVS & SLA concluded,
Poisoning was the most likely cause of demise.
Source: @bernedoodlesage on Instagram
Death of 3rd dog linked to Kovan field not due to poisoning
The statement also revealed that a third dog had passed away on 5 Oct.
This dog didn’t enter the Parry Avenue field, though, and only walked in the vicinity.
Its carcass was sent to AVS for a post-mortem examination, which “showed no evidence that the dog experienced poisoning”.
AVS and SLA pointed out that, unlike the other two dogs, the third dog was not reported to have had seizures.
Thus, based on this and other clinical signs, they concluded,
It is likely that this third case is unrelated to the other two cases.
Kovan field will reopen on 12 Nov
While investigations were being carried out, the field in question was cordoned off.
Following the conclusion of the probe, it will reopen to the public on Sunday (12 Nov), AVS and SLA said.
One reason for this is that there is “no evidence of contamination at the field”, they added, citing testing results.
When environmental samples from there were analysed, no poison or toxic substance that could’ve killed the dogs was uncovered. There was no vector control treatment conducted there recently.
Source: Megan Chow Aiyan on Facebook
This goes for the surrounding areas too.
No similar cases reported to date
Another reason for reopening the field is that no similar cases have been reported to date across Singapore, the statement said.
This was after an advisory was issued to all licensed veterinarians in Singapore to report any similar cases.
Dog owners living around Parry Avenue were also asked to volunteer the same information if they had it.
Dog owners reminded to closely watch their pooches
AVS and SLA reminded dog owners to keep a close watch on their dogs in public places, including leashing them, to minimise the risk of injury.
Members of the public may also report any suspected case of animal cruelty or injuries to the AVS via their website or Animal Response Centre at 1800-476-1600.
Ultimately, “safeguarding animal welfare is a shared social responsibility”, the agencies said.
Hopefully, no more innocent dog lives are lost as a result of visiting that field.
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Featured image adapted from Megan Chow Aiyan on Facebook.
