Christina Spicer  |  May 25, 2021

Category: Legal News

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The makers of the Seresto flea collar face another class action lawsuit claiming the product causes pets to become ill and even die.  

Lead plaintiff, Kevin Levensten, lodged the lawsuit in Pennsylvania federal court Monday, seeking to represent other state residents who purchased the allegedly dangerous item. Levensten claims that the makers of the Seresto flea collar, Elanco Animal Health Inc, along with parent company Bayer Corp, sold the Seresto flea collar despite knowing that substances included in the product could harm pets, as well as their owners.  

Levensten, a Pensylvania resident, says that his dog experienced seizures after he used a Seresto flea collar. The plaintiff claims that the flea collar’s active ingredients, the insecticides imidacloprid and flumethrin, caused his dog to experience seizures after they were released onto his pet’s hair and skin when wearing the flea collar.  

Levensten warns that the insecticides present a risk not only to pets, but also to owners and others who may handle the collars.  

The class action lawsuit alleges that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revealed a connection between insecticides used in the Seresto flea collar and as many as 75,000 reports of harm to pets and even humans. Levensten claims that the flea collars have been linked to 1,698 pet deaths and 1,000 reports of harm to people.  

Indeed, earlier this year, a joint investigation between USA Today and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting revealed that the agency received thousands of reports of human and pet injuries and illnesses linked to Seresto flea and tick collars 

Elanco Animal Health and parent company Bayer now face legal action, including at least one other class action lawsuit over the Seresto flea collar 

Problems in pets reported to the EPA allegedly include rashes, seizures and even death. People have reported suffering from rashes, neurological issues, heart palpitations, nausea, eye irritation, ocular pain, ocular redness, blurred vision, eyelid edema, numbing, skin lesions, rhinitis, urticaria, pruritus, erythema, conjunctivitis, nasal irritation, and nasal discharge, says the class action lawsuit.  

Levesten points out that the Seresto flea collar is the only product of its type on the market that contains the insecticide flumethrin; however, Elanco Animal Health fails to warn consumers about health risks associated with this substance.  

The class action lawsuit notes that the inserts in Seresto flea collar packages only warn of rare occurrences of “scratching, redness, and hair loss” and does not instruct pet owners to remove the collar if these occur. The inserts allegedly say that “dermatitis, inflammation, eczema or lesions” occur only “in very rare cases” and fail to warn of any human health effects.  

Despite the lack of warning, Levesten says that Seresto flea collars present severe health risks to pets and their owners. The plaintiff wants to represent potentially hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania residents who purchased a Seresto flea collar between March of 2015 and the present.  

The class action lawsuit accuses Elanco Animal Health and Bayer of violating state consumer protection laws, breach of warranty, fraud, and negligence. Levensten is seeking damages on behalf of class members, as well as attorney and court fees.  

Have you used a Seresto flea collar on your pet? We want to hear from you! Tell us what happened in the comment section below.  

The lead plaintiff is represented by Daniel C. Levin, Nicholas J. Elia of Levin Sedran & Berman LLP, and Scott D. Levensten Law Firm, PC.  

The Seresto Flea Collar Class Action Lawsuit is Levensten v. Elanco Animal Health Incorporated, et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-02364 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  


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190 thoughts onSeresto Flea Collar Caused at Least 1,700 Pet Deaths, Says New Class Action Lawsuit

  1. Sandra Gillen says:

    I’ve used Seresto flea collars for years my 10 yr old red nose pit had lumps that turned out to be cancer it killed him but i never dreamed it could be the collars. Few yrs later my 11 yr brintle pitbull developed cancer I tried saving her but her kidneys shut down I had to have her put to sleep then my 7 yr old bulldog became violently ill in a matter of 2 day she died she had 1 of these collars on she was very active and playful and then she was gone im very interested in talking to someone

  2. Sandra Gillen says:

    I have used seresto flea collars for my cats and dog. My bulldog became lethargic and sick after having seresto flea collar on then I noticed my cats acting the same way I immediately took them off after a day or si they

  3. Constance Comuntzis says:

    My 7 year old healthy, sweet cat, Raylee received the Seresto collar. He was a beautiful cat and had long, flowing hair. He started to have lots of hair loss after time and he was vomiting, couldnt eat, he was tired and his eyes looked dull. I cut the collar off of him and he still died. He died a horrible death, the vet said his insides looked like liquid and he had developed cancer. I cry every single day that I put this collar on my sweet boy.

  4. Sarah Roach says:

    I have a 10 year old chihuahua Max we placed the collar on him we noticed a burn mark under his neck with loss of hair. He then started having seizures. He seems ok now after the removal of the collar

  5. Georgene Snyder says:

    Our 8 year German Shepherd was in perfect health. A Seresto Collar was purchased and placed on him in September of 2022. We noticed several weeks later that he would miss a step or his back leg would buckle. We did not know of these stories that had happened to dogs or their owners. I developed eye problems in my Right Eye since the collar was placed on our dog. Sadly to say that on October 22, 2022, our beloved perfect pet suddenly died with no advanced warning.

  6. Stacy G says:

    My dog was just diagnosed with bone cancer and has a tumor on her shoulder. She has gone down very rapidly. We just started using these collars with a recommendation from our daughter, not even a full year ago and now my beloved Leonberger is terminally ill. Looking at all of these claims, I think it’s safe to say it’s from this collar. I’m going to take it off of her as well as my younger small dog. I haven’t heard about the recall until now!

  7. Lori Fortese says:

    my dog got cancer on neck where collar was and died in april was only 2 years old

  8. Brittany Lyon says:

    My almost 5 year old Rott was just diagnosed with end stage lymphoma. I have had these collars on for almost 3 years. Her lungs are highly effected and she only has days to live. Her eyes turned cloudy and blue. She was rushed to the ER. THIS COLLAR IS KILLING MY BABY. My mom’s dog a lab mix had one on for 2 weeks and began having seizures. THIS IS NOT OKAY. GET THEM OFF THE SHELVES. This is devastating families. I just spent hours at 2 vet emergency hospitals to find out the worst news possible.

  9. Tiffanie Ash says:

    We have been using Seresto collars on all my animals since 2017 with no issues. My husband and I just had to put our very vibrant 12 year old male lab mix down due to liver cancer Labor Day weekend 2022. Now hearing about all of this I am wondering if my dog died because of the collar. My female has large lumps all over her body but we simply thought it was due to old age ( lab mix at least 15 yrs plus). I noticed lately my cat has lumps too however we thought it was due to outside allergies and old age. How can we determine if the problem is the collar?

  10. karen Schur says:

    Our adorable mini- golden doodle died this past April 29 2022.. This was the suit of the Seresto collar placed on her- 3 days later she is shaking, vomiting, convulsing, bodily contortions and death. 5 days before the vet gave her a perfect health exam and stated she would live anymore years.

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