FLY CONTROL CHEMICALS CAUSE PROBLEMS

Last month, when Carol Glenister of IPM Labs addressed the issue of fly control using predator wasps, there was a lot of discussion in the group about various other methods. Some people asked about the feed-through chemical products and their safety. The information below about one of those products - Equitrol - has just been released. Caveat emptor!


JURY AWARDS $1,007,500 IN EQUITROL® LAWSUIT

Santa Ana, CA, March 25, 2004 -- The jury in Wrather v. Farnam Companies1
returned a verdict of $1,007,500 in favor of plaintiffs Charlotte Wrather,
Christopher Wrather and Lori Araki. The jury found that Farnam's product
Equitrol®, a feed-through fly control product, was defectively designed (not
safe when used in the intended manner) and that it had caused harm to
plaintiffs' thoroughbred racehorses and thoroughbred and warmblood sport
horses. Mr. and Mrs. Wrather are the owners of Cottonwood Ranch in Los
Alamos, California, a thoroughbred breeding and training farm. Ms. Araki is
manager and trainer at Cottonwood Ranch.

Equitrol® works in the manure to kill fly larvae before they mature. Its
active ingredient is the organophosphate insecticide tetrachlorvinphos, a
cholinesterase inhibitor and neurotoxin which is also known by the trade
name Rabon®. Feed-through fly control products containing Rabon® are widely
used in beef and dairy cattle and other livestock industries, as well as in
horses.

Farnam has advertised that Equitrol® is designed to pass quickly through the
horse's gastrointestinal tract without being digested, and that it is safe
for all horses including pregnant and lactating mares and their foals. The
Wrathers and Ms. Araki claimed that they fed Equitrol® as directed, that the
organophosphate in it was absorbed into their horses' systems, and that this
caused or exacerbated a variety of health problems in the horses including
reproductive problems and birth defects, stunted and retarded growth,
hyperexcitability and other neurological dysfunctions, laminitis,
immunosuppression evidenced by unusual or unusually severe infections, low
thyroid, diarrhea, colic and more.

Testifying as an expert witness for plaintiffs was Dr. John Madigan, D.V.M.,
professor in the Department of Medicine and Epidemiology and chief of the
Equine Section at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, School of
Veterinary Medicine at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Madigan
last summer conducted a pilot study of the effects of feeding Equitrol®. In
his study (forthcoming in the veterinary literature), the group of test
horses fed Equitrol® experienced a sharp drop in their whole blood
cholinesterase to levels consistent with organophosphate intoxification. The
study also revealed statistically significant differences in behavior while
on Equitrol® as compared with the control group. In a series of behavioral
tests, the horses fed Equitrol® exhibited heightened or intensified flight
response, that is, they were "spookier" or more easily startled or
frightened.

The Wrathers and Ms. Araki had also alleged that Farnam knew at least since
1981 that 10% to 30% of the organophosphate in Equitrol® was absorbed, so
that the advertising and marketing for Equitrol® contained negligent and
intentional misrepresentations and omissions. The jury did not find that
this had been proved by a preponderance of the evidence.

1 Charlotte Wrather et al v. Farnam Companies, Inc., United States
District Court for the Central District of California, Santa Ana Civil No.
03-967 JVS(RCx)(March 25, 2004)

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submitted by Marie McRae