Tulip festival bans dogs after pet's death

A tulip festival has made the decision to no longer allow dogs to visit after the death of a pet.

Jemma Ladwitch, 42, had attended Farmer Copleys Tulip Festival with her spaniel, Bobby, who died just three hours after visiting the attraction.

The owners of Farmer Copleys in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, stated they were "deeply saddened" by the incident and as a "precautionary measure" had made the decision to no longer permit dogs for the remainder of the season. A pick-your-own area has also been closed.

The festival, which runs for four weeks, was previously a dog-friendly event, with visitors encouraged to take pictures among the flowers.

Tulips, when ingested by dogs, can in some cases cause issues such as an upset stomach or vomiting.

The three-year-old springer spaniel died after having seizures which Ladwitch's vet ascribed to eating tulips.

"He had no illnesses, no health issues. He was just gone within three hours," Ladwitch said.

However, the Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) said it had handled about 1,600 cases of tulip ingestion, in which two-thirds of animals developed "no signs" of illness.

They said that any poisoning was by an animal eating the plant or bulb, rather than simply walking through a tulip field or licking soil.

A spokesperson for the business, which is a animal toxicology specialist, said: "The severity of the gastrointestinal signs directly relates to the amount ingested.

"Respiratory issues and seizures are not a feature of tulip toxicity in pets.

"The compounds are present throughout the plant and are more concentrated in the bulbs, but the only fatality reported to us was due to gut obstruction due to eating the bulbs rather than the effects from the toxic compounds themselves."

Farmer Copleys said: "The safety and wellbeing of all our visitors and their pets is something we take extremely seriously. As a precautionary measure, we have made the difficult decision to no longer permit dogs at our tulip festival for the remainder of the season.

"We must stress while the exact cause of this incident remains unknown, many flowers and plants in outdoor environments can pose risks to dogs if ingested, particularly the bulb, and we do not wish to take any further risk."

Visitors with pre-booked tickets who feel they can no longer attend are able to request refunds, and assistance dogs can still go onto the farm as long as their owners sign a waiver.

Family-run Farmer Copleys holds a number of events throughout the year, including sunflower, strawberry and pumpkin festivals.

Clarification 20 May: We have updated this article to include information from The Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) about the dangers of tulips to dogs which include vomiting and diarrhoea and to say that this stems from eating the bulbs rather than walking through tulips or licking bulbs.

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