SPCA makes poison kits available to crime stakeholders and public
Various stakeholders, including SAPS, CPF and AfriForum received a number of poison kits from the SPCA.
In preparation for the festive season and its accompanying increase in crime, the Brakpan SPCA handed out their two-step poison kits last Friday to members of security firms, the CPF, AfriForum, SAPS and other stakeholders.
The kits, called the two-step kit for two-step, target the most common current pet poisoning trend of using two-step, a fast-acting poison. The kit contains an instruction pamphlet, a small squirt bottle, and two bags of capsules.
One capsule contains vomit inducer safe for the animal that foams once ingested, while the other contains activated charcoal.
The goal is to get the poison out of the animal by making them vomit and then feeding them activated charcoal to safely neutralise the remaining poison in the stomach.
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There will still be poison in the animal’s bloodstream, and damage caused to the stomach lining could cause bleeding ulcers, so it is imperative to take the animal to the vet immediately for proper treatment.
“This kit is only a measure to buy the animal time, and not a guarantee of survival, but is worth it,” said Brakpan SPCA manager Tamaryn Lombard.
The public can purchase the kits at the SPCA for R30, or R50 for two. The kit does help for some other toxins but is in no case a final measure and an animal that has consumed anything toxic to them should immediately be taken to the vet.
If a community member does not have a kit and notices symptoms of poisoning, they can call their local security firm, CPF, AfriForum or SAPS and request a poison kit.
The kit’s leaflet contains a list of symptoms of poisoning so that an animal is not treated for poison when they have not been poisoned, as it could cause harm if something else is wrong.
Two-step is dark green, black or grey granules, fed to animals in food. Sometimes rat poisons are added to the mix, giving it a blue tint.
If you can find the source of the poison, take a sample to the vet with you so they can identify exactly what it is and administer more specific treatments for better success.
The kits are refillable as you open the capsules and add the contents to the squirt bottle with water directly. Always check which vomit inducers are safe with the SPCA when purchasing the kit.
The SPCA and SAPS also keep a database of poisonings to track trends in method, frequency and location. If your animal has been poisoned it is imperative to report it to either or both so that they can collect more complete information and make more informed predictions.
With more information, they can issue warnings to the public to keep animals safe. The SPCA is located at 96 Denne Road in Witpoortjie and may be contacted on 011 742 2007.
