Lawmakers want to ban seresto collars after they were linked to the deaths of 2500 cats and dogs.
The Environmental Protection Agency made a number of errors in approving the $70 collar that was linked to 100,000 incidents in pets, according to a report by a Congressional committee.
The collar was approved by the EPA after a flawed scientific review process that underestimated the exposure of cats and dogs to imidacloprid, a pesticide that could be toxic to pets.
It found that Seresto collars were not made safer after problems were flagged.
Seresto was deemed too dangerous to be sold in Canada after the committee found that the EPA ranked it as the #1 most dangerous product in the world. The EPA allowed Seresto to stay on the market despite some of its officials raising their concerns.
34 million Seresto collars have been sold in the US. They are popular with consumers because they last up to eight months.
According to documents obtained by the EPA from a Freedom of Information Act request, 1,700 pets have died while wearing Seresto collar. Legislators said those numbers had gone up.
At a House Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday, hemsley fought back tears as she recalled buying a Seresto collar for her dog.
Tigger had begun to droop and he did not have as much energy as he used to. Tigger died less than a month after that. The dog wore a Seresto collar at the time.
Hemsley believes that the collar was the cause of Tigger's death.
An improvement to incident data collection and a recall of Seresto collar were recommended by the Subcommittee.
The EPA has a plan to review its processes.
Insider requested comment from the EPA and Elanco outside normal working hours.
According to CBS MoneyWatch, there was no link between Seresto and pet deaths.
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