Pet dog dies after eating palm oil on beach

Lucy Beswick’s three-year-old dog Nellie died after eating what was thought to be palm oil that washed up on a beach

The owner of a dog who died after eating what was thought to be palm oil on a beach warned others of the dangers.

Lucy Beswick’s three-year-old Maltese Poodle and Jack Russell cross, Nellie, became seriously ill after eating a black substance on Newgale beach, Pembrokeshire in June.

Palm oil has reportedly also been spotted at nearby Marloes beach.

Pembrokeshire council issued a warning last month for people to "be vigilant to the potential of palm oil washing ashore”.

Nellie was a three-year-old Maltese Poodle and Jack Russell cross

Ms Beswick said after speaking to a vet, she believed Nellie ingested "lethal toxins" from a palm oil berg.

The experience of losing her dog was "absolutely devastating," she added.

The recruitment consultant from Hertfordshire was visiting her sister in Pembrokeshire when they decided to take Nellie to the beach.

"We were walking together on the shoreline and I noticed she was very attracted to this round object which looked like a crustacean,” she said.

"It was dark in colour, like a fifty pence piece-size and there were about three or four of them together. She smelt it and decided to eat one.

“I was trying to prize it out of her mouth, because I didn't know what it was."

About seven hours, later Nellie became very lethargic.

Blocks of palm oil washed up on Manorbier beach in Pembrokeshire in 2020

Ms Beswick thought she may be having a relapse of mild pancreatitis, but over the next few days her condition worsened.

She was put on a drip but later started suffering seizures.

Nellie went into a coma and her owner had to make the difficult decision to turn her life support machine off on 5 June.

"She was my everything,” she said.

“She was a lockdown puppy after we lost a previous dog to bladder cancer. When this happened, it had a huge impact on us."

Palm oil bergs can wash up in dark, yellowish or white waxy blocks

Palm oil bergs are believed to wash up on Pembrokeshire beaches when tankers clean out their ballast tanks and remove any waste products.

The waste can be coated in palm oil which is attractive to dogs.

Nearly 50,000 people have signed an online petition set up by Ms Beswick, calling for the practice to be banned.

"What harm is this doing in our oceans? I think it's disgraceful. It's harming sea life and land animals,” she said.

Pembrokeshire council issued a warning last month for people visiting the Pembrokeshire coastline to "be vigilant to the potential of palm oil washing ashore".

Palm oil can be seen in dark, yellowish or white waxy blocks, according to the authority.

It also has a distinctive smell, similar to diesel, it added.

Beach users have been urged to keep dogs on leads and away from the substance.

The council said any sightings should be reported.