Nidderdale dog poison death: 'Someone should be held responsible'

The owner of two dogs poisoned in the countryside says she wants "someone to be held responsible" for the death of one of her pets.

Chloe Ambler's spaniels fell ill after a walk near Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire, in April.

One of the dogs died and forensic tests showed it had four pesticides in its system, which police described as the "Nidderdale cocktail".

"Absolutely devastating. You feel like you've been robbed," Ms Ambler said.

"I need someone to be held responsible because at the end of the day we've lost amazing Molly.

"It's been so awful for us and I don't see why people should get away with that."

The poisons found in the dog included a significant quantity of bendiocarb, along with smaller quantities of chloralose, isofenphos and carbofuran.

Chloralose is licensed for use in England in a low concentration as a rodenticide, but the other three substances are banned.

Tests concluded that exposure to these pesticides most likely caused the dog's death.

A £5,000 reward has been offered by a shop owner in Pateley Bridge to find those responsible.

Businessman Keith Tordoff said: "It affects tourism. It affects business.

"Everybody's affected by this stain on the reputation of Nidderdale and we've got to get the message across to these people, this has got to stop."

The combination of toxins has been linked to the deaths of three birds of prey in the area since 2016 including two red kites and a buzzard.

Howard Jones, an investigations officer at RSPB, said: "It is absolutely dreadful and this underlines what is the completely irresponsible nature of placing poison out into the countryside.

"These people are doing it and know it's illegal but they don't care."

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