• Bayer takes a zero tolerance policy towards surge in illegal animal health products
• It urges vets to be vigilant in the identification of counterfeit Seresto collars on pets visiting their surgeries
• Reporting of incidents is of paramount importance in protecting the health and wellbeing of pets and their owners

For over 150 years, Bayer has been an innovation company rooted in providing science-based solutions for its customers, including vets and pet owners. To date, they have developed scientific and medical breakthroughs that have resulted in the creation of some of the most loved brands in Animal Health. Criminals are taking advantage of the good reputation Bayer has created for itself and its products, and of the excitement driven by consumers about it’s most successful global brand; Seresto, which protects pets against fleas and ticks for up to 8 months.

Fighting to protect brands is a complex problem that no single company can resolve alone. Companies like Bayer are collaborating with government entities, law enforcement agencies, trade associations and others around the globe and cross-industry to help ensure that consumers receive only genuine goods when it comes to all animal medicines.

Bayer takes a zero tolerance position towards illegal activities and has implemented a global brand protection strategy to help combat production, trade and use of counterfeit and illegal animal health products. Brand protection measures are implemented by most successful companies to educate their customers on illicit trade, such as counterfeit products, imitations, foreign products unauthorised for sale, and tampered or repackaged products, and to protect the integrity of their brands.

Hannah Watts, Senior Brand Manager for Seresto at Bayer, said: “We know that Seresto in particular is one of Bayer’s most loved Animal Health brands, and that simple fact unfortunately makes it a prime target for fraudsters. It is something we have been dealing with on a smaller scale for a while, but is becoming a more prominent problem with the increasing popularity of the product in the UK. Illegal products are damaging for everyone: for companies who invest heavily in bringing safe, efficacious products to market only for them to be undersold, for pet owners who waste money buying illegal products that don’t work, and for pets who receive treatments and preventatives that do not promote their health, but instead may even pose a risk to it. They undermine the heart of what we all stand for as animal health professionals’.

Bayer are launching a campaign to educate pet owners on where to safely buy products, which includes veterinary practices. Vets can play a key role in helping to stamp out this illegal activity, by identifying and reporting counterfeit collars they come across when in consultation with pet owners.

Hannah Watts, Senior Brand Manager for Seresto at Bayer, said: ‘We want to ensure vets are aware that counterfeit products are out there, and equip them with the knowledge to be able to identify them, particularly where a pet owner has purchased an illegal collar under the impression it is Seresto, only to experience a treatment failure, where these animals may be presented to a vet. It is only if we are informed about these cases, we can get to the root of the problem, and ensure more pets and their owners don’t fall victim’.

To be able to identify a counterfeit Seresto collar please watch the video: http://bit.ly/2KXJIFf

If you think your client has been a victim of this illegal activity, please contact the police at www.actionfraud.police.uk and notify the VMD enforcement team at enforcement@vmd.defra.gsi.gov.uk

Picture at the top shows an example of a counterfeit collar