3 Dogs Killed Today - Poison Alert

[chrissa1]

The Alnmouth to Warkworth beaches in Northumberland have been laced with poison and 3 dogs have died today. The police are involved and have "locked down" the beach to dog walkers.

Stay away if you're in the area. There are some sick people out there.

[Smuggler]

Station mistress has already said from her inquiries that there will be nothing in the press?? In fact she even said that she was told there was NO dead dogs? Most strange

[Mamyalynne]

More than strange, quite bewildering really.

[Smuggler]

All I can say that is yesterday afternoon the police were keeping people of the dunes because three dogs had died from strychnine poisoning picked up from that area. Today they seem too have no knowledge since it has come out who was allegedly responsible for this. I have nothing more too say on this only that I will not put my much loved pet in danger by exercising in that area. If other people want too take that chance then so be it

[Stationmistress]

There is talk in the local pub tonight of the Duke's beaters searching the dunes. I won't be taking my dog to Warkworth beach again until it has rained at least twenty times or more - I am very unhappy at the lack of communication and information today.
We've only just started taking dogs in our s/c apartment, it is not a good start to the year that I cannot give customers the facts but I will be looking out for 'pheasant feeders' and making sure I give them a wide berth, as well as any 'carcasses' which could be poisoned.

[chrissa1]

I can well believe that stationmistress. The Duke is all powerful up here. I'm disgusted.

[boxtops]

That's awful, if this does turn out to be one person's actions, and nobody's going to do anything about it.

[RATTER15]

Highly unlikely to be strychnine, I used to use strychnine regularly, I was only permitted to buy it a gram at a time, gamekeepers etc were the same and you had to fill out reams of paperwork including OS maps of areas that was going to used in and it could only legally be used to kill moles, as Nox pointed out, it is no longer on the market.

I think all this is a rumour that has got out of hand!

[RATTER15]

Smuggler! Another new account from someone in the same area?

[sunny-dave]

That's quite a polite way of putting it Ratter ...

Two new brand new people finding AB and posting only on this topic, and there being not a single reference to the incident anywhere else on the web (no other forums, no news sites, no police reports, no facebokk - just plain nothing), is a bit of a strain on my belief in coincidence ... a look at the IP addresses used by the prime posters on this topic might be interesting Ab_Ed ?

[bibblebub]

that duke must be really powerful, i can't find a single tweet about this location - which must make this story unique since everything else, from international events to the banality of every nobody's day-to-day life, get tweeted and re-tweeted

[chrissa1]

Why is it strange that two new posters have commented on this? We all live in the same area? I googled it last night and, lo and behold there was my question. Isn't that how the web works?

The new posters mention people in the village that I know.

The duke's gamekeepers would have ample supplies of poison.

[NOX]

Whatever the circumstances I'm sure chrissa reported them here in good faith being the nice lady she is, and this is starting to feel like an unpleasant witch hunt against her.

[RATTER15]

>>The duke's gamekeepers would have ample supplies of poison.<<

No they wouldnt, how or why would they?

Nox, no witch hunt, just dispelling a rumour!

I accept that some dogs became ill after visiting the beach, a similar thing happened near me, it was just put down to some contamination coming ashore, it happens and that is far more likely than someone trying to poison dogs.

[sunny-dave]

It's not a witch hunt against anyone - least of all chrissa who I know is a valued and respected member of AB (for much longer than me) and is posting in the absolute best of faith.

As ratter has just said, I'm merely concerned that this needs to be approached with some care as to the original source of the information which chrissa is passing on

dave

[chrissa1]

Thank you sunny-dave for your kind words.

It Is on Facebook. I don't know about Twitter, we've got more sense up here. Lol.

The Duke owns 120,000 acres of Northumberland, why wouldn't he have poison for pests?

[Baldric]

Three dead dogs who then made a faster recovery than Lazarus.
Three new members who have only posted on this thread.
An unidentified Duke who seems to behave like a Mafia chief.
Police who seem be aiding and abetting a cover-up and using their helicoptor inappropriately.
A newspaper that apparently won't report a local story.
I await further developments with interest!

[RATTER15]

>>The Duke owns 120,000 acres of Northumberland, why wouldn't he have poison for pests?<<

What pests? Game keepers do not keep stocks of poisons, I know and worked with Game Keepers. it is illegal to poison foxes and no suitable poisons are available, nearly all rodent poisons contain bitrex which is a taste deterrent, highly unlikely a dog would consume it.

I have worked extensively with poisons over many years, none of this sounds likely to me. However not impossible either.

[RATTER15]

Isnt it just easier and more realistic to believe that 3 dogs fell in after coming into contact with something that may have been washed up on the beach, the dogs recovered and are now living quite happily with no long term affects of this unfortunate incident.

[percy14]

Fact,
There are game feeders from Warkworth golf course to Buston.
Fact,
Each game feeder ( large blue barrel ) has its own posion bait station,
(a black box about two foot long by a foot wide ).

Fact,
I noticed about 12 game feeders had been moved and were being stored at the Buston end of the fields, there were no signs of any posion bait stations with them.

Fact,
I have been told Strychnine can Kill more than once ie,if a pest is killed with strychine any other animal feeding on the posioned carcass would also be posined.This would account for any dead birds that were found.

Fact,
These people were excercising their dogs on National trust property.

[Stationmistress]

Hello chrissa1 - I expect you have already heard but we have have been told that it was definitely strychnine, illegal or not, put down by an obviously totally incompetent and inexperienced sub contracted company to increase game stock in the Buston areas ready for a shoot. Ghastly way to start the half term holiday and sympathies to all who have been affected.