News Item

AVOCADO KILLS FOUR RABBITS

Monday 08th March 2010

The seemingly-harmless green fruit contains persin, a fungicidal toxin, which can be fatal for animals such as rabbits, birds, mice, cows, goats, sheep and horses.

Jan Box lost four rabbits after they ate avocados - not realising the danger they contain.

Now Jan, who looks after unwanted bunnies at her home, is urging Pets And Their People readers not to let their animals eat the killer fruit.

Jan, 32, said: "I was offered several avocados as treats for my 18 rabbits.

"They chomped on them as they would a tasty carrot.

"But the next day I found three of the younger rabbits were dead.

"One of the older rabbits was also suffering breathing difficulties so I rushed her to the vet. But when I got there it was too late.

"The rabbit had to be put down. I was absolutely devastated." Vet Elmarie Van Tonder, of Pet Doctors in Chichester, West Sussex, carried out tests and found each of the dead rabbits had persin in its stomach.

Elmarie added: "Persin doesn't affect humans but is very dangerous for lots of animals.

"Unfortunately that fact isn't well known. After doing my research I found very little information about the dangers of the poison.

Dangers

"I would certainly warn all rabbit owners not to feed them avocados as they are deadly.

"This was a particularly upsetting case since I know how much devotion Jan gives to her pets. She's a wonderful, caring owner."

Thankfully the 14 other rabbits all survived the ordeal with no serious side effects.

Shocked Jan is now determined to warn her fellow pet owners about the dangers of avocados and guacamole, the dip made from the fruit.

Scientists believe the biggest danger comes from the Guatemalan avocado, which is also the one most commonly found in supermarkets.

Symptoms to watch for include a pet suffering stomach pains, vomiting, diarrhoea or breathing difficulties. If owners are worried they should visit their vet immediately.

Jan added: "I'm still very upset about the death of my rabbits. None had showed any sign of illness before eating avocados.

"All I can do now is warn other owners to prevent more unnecessary deaths. I'm trying to turn this dreadful experience into a positive one by ensuring other pet owners are aware of the dangers of persin. Then my four beloved bunnies won't have died in vain."

Please visit  http://www.people.co.uk/petsandpeople for more information

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