Dog owners beware: So you don't become the "messenger of death" for young birds
Munich - Young birds can diefrom dog hair : This is proven by a study from the Netherlands, which actually wanted to investigate something completely different.

According to"aktion tier - menschen für tiere e.V.", one of Germany's largest animal welfare organizations, the researchers wanted to show "how threatening pesticides against the box tree moth, better known as the moth, are for young birds". The astonishment was correspondingly great when another cause for the deaths came to light.
It turned out that there was a significant correlation between the fur of pets that had been treated against ectoparasites and the mortality of nestlings.
In the pathological examination of the dead nestlings, "the researchers did not so much detect agents against the moth as active substances that are used on pets to protect them from ticks and fleas," Dr. Tina Hölscher, who works as a veterinarian, is quoted as saying.
The question of how these dangerous substances could ultimately get into the bird in question subsequently became the focus of the research. In the course of their investigations, the scientists discovered that the nesting material used by the birds consisted in part of brushed dog hair that was demonstrably contaminated with ectoparasitics. This is a major problem.
Due to the fact that the nestlings are still unfeathered, the substance was able to penetrate the organism of the small and completely defenceless birds and cause considerable damage, which ultimately led to the death of the animals.
Dog owners have a duty
"Pet owners who brush their dogs outdoors on park benches and who protect their animals against fleas and ticks with various preparations, as is absolutely recommended in principle, should definitely collect the fur remnants and dispose of them in such a way that wild animals cannot use them as material for nest building," is Hölscher's plea.
According to the vet, this is a simple and effective way for dog owners to contribute to the important protection of native wildlife - and not unwittingly become "messengers of death for young birds".