Police have located and seized rat poison in Parkhurst Forest following multiple reports of dogs falling ill after ingesting a suspicious substance.
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary says it has received a number of reports since February of dogs becoming unwell in the forest on the outskirts of Newport.
Following proactive patrols, neighbourhood officers have collected samples of the substance and have confirmed it is believed to be rat poison, which had been deposited sporadically throughout the area.
Police have now seized the poison and are continuing enquiries into how it came to be left in the forest. Follow-up enquiries with local stockists are underway and investigators are liaising with the Forestry Commission.
Dog walkers have most commonly reported encountering the substance near the Marks Corner end of Parkhurst Forest, although it could have been present elsewhere.
Police are warning dog owners to remain vigilant when visiting the forest and to be mindful of anything their pets may pick up or ingest.
Sergeant Mark Radford has said:
“These incidents continue to cause concern to people who use the Forest, but most important of all is the harm this is causing to people’s beloved pets.
“This is simply unacceptable, and our officers are patrolling the area and following up any available lines of enquiry. If you use the Forest, please be alert and mindful of your surroundings to help keep yourself, your pet and others safe.
“Parkhurst Forest is a vast area, and of course is very limited in terms of CCTV coverage. The deposition of this poison has also been sporadic, so it is crucial that members of the public report anything they see or find to police.
“Have you witnessed anyone acting suspiciously in the Forest? Do you cycle and use a helmet camera, for example, that may have captured something? Have you found any suspected poison in the Forest? Please give us as much detail as you can regarding exactly where and when, and any descriptions of suspicious people you have observed in the area.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting 44260130015. Information can also be submitted online via www.hampshire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/cor/tell-us-about-existing-case-report/. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
What despicable Low Life this person, or persons, must be. You might not an animal lover but it does not give you the right to do such a thing.
Unfortunately, even if they do get caught they will probably be ‘told off’ and told not to do it again. No doubt, their Defence Council will spin some story about a difficult upbringing yada yada yada.
Extreme, I know, but personally, I would force feed some of their poison to them, not enough to do serious damage, but enough for them to experience at least some of the AGONY that an animal goes through when it ingests such things.
Fully agree. Tho I think to send a proper message to animal abusing scum, the poison should be administered to them gradually over a few days. Enough too, finally after the searing agony of the last 24hrs, their already putrifing internal organs start shutting down, until the bony fingers of Death finally reaps them, snuffing out their worthless souls.
well if this is one sick-minded individual’s effort to stop people taking dogs to parkhurst forest,.. I’m sad to say, that for me it has worked.
while there is any remote chance of my dogs being poisoned by some pathertic, sick, individual, who callously dumps rat poison, to deliberately make dogs (or other wildlife) suffer, I won’t be taking them anywhere near there…
TBH, if I caught someone depositing rat poison like that, I’d damn well make sure they consumed all of it themselves….
Nearly as “unacceptable” as the amount of dog faeces deposited around the pathways by the beloved pets and their loving owners.
Surely this unspeakable creature should be staked out on the forest floor and force- fed a mixture of rat poison and our beloved furry babies’ faeces as well as more deadly toxic poisons. No matter if we got the wrong person, it would show our righteous outrage and devotion to dogs above humans.
Probably someone living there. Who gives a rats ass about rats in a literal forest
There are so many evil cruel B’stards in this world.