100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

100% Locally Owned, Independent and Free

RSPCA investigators rule out one possible cause of deadly Buddina dog poisonings

Do you have a news tip? Click here to send to our news team.

Traffic lights on way for busy intersection ‘black spot’

A key intersection on the southern Sunshine Coast is set for a major upgrade, but a local councillor says it could funnel more traffic More

College set to expand with new campus

A senior secondary school that supports disengaged and at-risk young people is planning to expand its footprint on the Sunshine Coast with a new More

‘Flavour of the month’: couple redefines Coast patisserie scene

A young couple have put freshly baked pastries on the map, opening a new patisserie complete with “not-to-miss” flavours of the month. Lachlan and Cheyenne Peterson More

Petition lodged against backpackers as public notification underway

Public consultation has commenced for proposed backpacker accommodation that has already raised concerns with a local council and ignited an online petition against the More

Rescue crew marks busy year as new base nears completion

More than 600 people were airlifted by the Sunshine Coast-based LifeFlight crew during the past 12 months, as the organisation prepares to open a More

Sami Muirhead: the high price of petrol

The police called me this week and it was not a pleasant phone conversation. They told me I had not paid for my petrol and More

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.”

A Council spokesperson said the suspected poisoning incidents have been narrowed to the area around Beach Access 210 which is on Pacific Blvd, Buddina.

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.

Subscribe to SCN’s free daily news email

This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
[scn_go_back_button] Return Home
Share