Jo Laurens, who runs the specialist dog training and canine behaviour business Dog Works, became aware of the use of the pesticide on Monday as she was walking with her dogs in the area at La Mielle de Morville, between Kempt Tower and Chemin du Moulin.
She published a post on her business Facebook page to warn other dog owners as glyphosate is alleged to be harmful to animals and humans alike.
Ms Laurens believes that her own dogs were affected by the product soon after being in contact with the herbicide. She said: “I have three dogs and the one that was running around the most had diarrhea. All of them were very lethargic and sleepy yesterday and they stlll are today.”
While the use of the controversial herbicide raised concerns among dog owners, they were also angered by the lack of signs available in the area. Ms Laurens explained that because of the shape of the area, she only saw the warning signs when it was too late, and wasn’t able to prevent her dogs from being exposed to the glyphosate.
She posted on Facebook: “If you know the area, the path narrows and then widens out into open areas – you will still be walking along the narrow path, unable to see ahead – whilst your dogs are skipping about in weed killer just ahead of you.) I didn’t even see the signs at all on my way out. On my way back, I saw them, whilst two of my dogs were running in the area.”
Russ Allchin, another dog owner, said that his dogs showed the same symptoms earlier this year after he says the Parish sprayed the lanes with Roundup, which contains glyphosate. He said: “I have dogs that like to eat the grass, they had a bad stomachs for a couple of days then we found out the Parish had sprayed the lanes with Roundup. I had an email conversation with the Parish and was assured that Roundup would not be used again as long as the current St. Ouen’s roads committee was in place. Every dog owner I came across either didn’t know and was angry as their dogs had been unwell or knew about it and had contacted the Parish.”
“It’s not only dogs eating the grass like they do who are affected, they walk through it, then lick their paws clean and ingest it that way as well.”
Pictured: The Parish of St. Ouen confirmed earlier this year they would stop using glyphosate on their roads.
The Department of Environment quickly issued a comment to reassure dog owners. They said that glyphosate was used as part of “planned ongoing management works for a plant known as Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), which is a scheduled plant listed on the Weeds (Jersey) Law 1961.”
Glyphosate was applied in areas where ragwort was dominant “for controlled herbicide application”, “in line with the manufacturer’s guidelines.” It is one of various methods deployed for treatment, which include hand digging, cutting, mowing and spot spraying.
The Department added: “The use of herbicides and pesticides is not in itself illegal, if used in the right way, for the problems they are targeting. The work that has been carried out at La Mielle is consistent with the recent guidance issued by the Department following complaints relating to pesticide use along roadsides. Furthermore there is no evidence that the use of glyphosate is in anyway harmful to the Public, to dogs or for that matter any vertebrates.”
Pictured: Glyphosate was used in St. Ouen to control the spread of ragwort, which is a scheduled plant listed on the Weeds (Jersey) Law 1961.
A spokesperson for the Department of Environment commented: “We appreciate people’s concerns. There’s no evidence that glyphosate is harmful to people or animals, but like all pesticides, we use it sparingly, in line with best practice and only when necessary to manage Jersey’s habitats, and we monitor and review our approach to habitat management all the time.”
Theo Knight-Jones, the States Vet, also said that there is no risk as long as precautions are being taken. “The manufacturer of the weed-killer used states that it poses little to no risk to animal health, when used according to the label. It is a mainstream product which has undergone appropriate product safety testing. So in my professional opinion it does not pose a risk to dogs that walk there occasionally, or even frequently – the same compound is widely used in gardens around the world without affecting the health of household pets or children.”
Regarding the reported lack of signage, the Department confirmed they are working on better ways to signal the sprayed area. “We will change what we do to ensure our signs are more prominent and give people more warning about the areas our rangers are working in. We’ll also warn people in advance when we plan to work in popular areas.”