Mary Allen
When the farmer fertilizes his fields, the dogs are in danger. There is a bacterium in the liquid manure that can kill four-legged friends.
The days are getting longer, the temperatures warmer and the birds louder. However, spring can not only be felt and heard but also smelled. In addition to snowdrops and primroses, a completely different scent announces spring: that of fresh liquid manure on the fields.
While we humans only wrinkle our noses in disgust at this, some dogs seem almost magically attracted to the stench of manure. They would love to run across the field, roll in the stinking water, and lap up the brown puddles.
But dog owners would do well to prevent their four-legged friends from doing so. Not just to avoid having to share the sofa with a foul-smelling dog later on. Manure can do a lot more than just make the dog stink. In the worst case, a trip to the liquid manure field can be deadly for your four-legged friend. Namely when the dog comes into contact with the poison of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum through the liquid manure.
The so-called botulinum toxin is considered to be the strongest neurotoxin of all. In human medicine, it is known under the collective term «Botox». Since it interrupts the connection between nerves and muscles, it is injected in cosmetics in small doses to tighten the skin. This is because the paralysis of the muscles underneath automatically smooths out the wrinkles above.
In contrast to the Botox injection, the botulinum toxin in the liquid manure is not dosed in such a way that it remains harmless. So the effect on dogs is the same – just devastating. According to the Institute for Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Zurich, the symptoms of what is known as botulism appear one to two days after the poison has been ingested. During this time, the botulinum toxin has accumulated in the outer nerve endings.
Breeding Ground for ToxinDevelopment
As a result, the dog begins to lame from behind. The paralysis of the striated muscles continues insidiously over the entire body and ultimately culminates in paralysis of the tongue, which makes it impossible for the dog to take in water and/or food. Until he finally suffocates from progressive respiratory paralysis.
The fact that the botulinum toxin can be present in manure has to do with the properties of the bacterium. This occurs worldwide in the soil, sea, and seabed and can survive for a long time in the form of spores, as the Federal Office of Public Health states in a leaflet. Many wild animals, birds, and domestic animals carry the bacterium. Although they are not affected by this, they act as transmitters. However, if the bacterium is exposed to the exclusion of air and temperatures between 25 and 40 degrees, dangerous toxins are produced. Carcasses are considered to be a particularly ideal breeding ground.
This also makes it clear how the botulinum toxin gets into the liquid manure. This is usually collected on farms in underground pits that are never 100 percent closed due to gas development. If, for example, mice and rats drown in the cesspools, this is an ideal breeding ground for the botulinum toxin. Just like the manure from poultry farms, which consists of sawdust, poultry manure, and the carcasses of day-old chicks.
It is unclear how much of the poison ends in death for the dog. The question of whether rolling around in liquid manure alone is enough to cause poisoning is also a controversial issue. Nevertheless, many veterinarians are currently warning their customers against letting dogs romp around on freshly manured meadows. However, that should also please the farmer, who fertilizes the fields so that something grows – and not so that dogs die from it.