Click this link for “‘A [sic] Education Tab’ Part IV”
We’re nearing the end of our report on Hartz’ Facebook Flea & Tick Education Tab:
Today, we discuss the last of the “From Hartz” links on the right-hand side of the above screenshot, entitled “Analysis of EPA Reported Adverse Events”.
Upon clicking the link, you are brought here:
The above charts are no strangers to us.
The last time BH referenced them was when Hartz added a link to these charts at the bottom of their web posting of the “Executive Summary” document. We called attention to this in the BH post, “Status Report”.
In that post, we said:
“We are unimpressed by Hartz Mountain Corporation’s claims their adverse event incident numbers are on the decline over the last few years.
We can think of a very good reason, other than increased safety, for your numbers to be dwindling, Hartz.”
Before we get to our idea as to why Hartz’ numbers are on the decline, we’d like to share the EPA’s opinion regarding the overall decline of Adverse Events across the industry.
The following comes from the Veterinary Information Network News Service:
(New labels for spot-on parasite treatments expected
posted on news.vin.com on May 16, 2012, by Marc Selinger & Jennifer Fiala, Paragraph 8)“The EPA attributes the decrease to a variety [sic] factors, including increased public awareness that flea and tick treatments can induce negative and sometimes life-threatening side effects in pets, especially if used incorrectly.”
Though we feel it valid to assume this statement means, in part, individuals are exercising more caution when using these products, we feel the more common result of this increased awareness is people researching non-pesticide solutions to the problem, seeking the advice of a reputable Veterinarian and/or simply avoiding these needless “treatments” altogether.
The likelihood of decreased sales leads us to a small detail Hartz has been trying to gloss over.
The United States has been in a recession since December of 2007.
This of course, became a global recession.
Large drops in sales have been seen across a vast range of industries throughout the world and we at Broken Hartz feel it a safe bet the flea treatment industry has not been spared.
Hartz would have you believe they are the leader in sales and, therefore, their incidents-to-sales ratio would be respectable.
Of course, they and others refuse to release sales data, under the claim of “Confidential Business Information”.
What we at Broken Hartz wish to point out is, if this information had any chance of clearing Hartz’ name, they would eagerly share it. We would not be surprised to find Hartz’ sales figures concerning their Flea & Tick “treatments” to be abysmal, resulting in even more appalling figures that one could dream.
ATTENTION HARTZ MOUNTAIN CORPORATION:
Your incidents are down because sales have been down almost everywhere due to the recession, combined with the fact people are getting wise to your game.
Additionally, those who still choose to use flea treatments are probably not choosing you as often as they used to.
You have done nothing to earn kudos for your lower incident numbers.
Aside from that, as we’ve had to remind you time and again, a comparison of the absolute numbers in the EPA’s reports is not appropriate:
(EPA Public Advisory published in March 2010, Page 4, Paragraph 3)
“A comparison of the absolute numbers of incidents among the different spot-on products in this report is not appropriate. This is because some products may have more incidents than other products because more of that product is sold and because incident information is voluntarily submitted by pet owners, with varying levels of detailed information, and routine reporting is sometimes lacking. The incidents have not been verified and may have causes other than exposure to the pesticide.”
If you wish to dispute our allegations, kindly supply the backing data responsible for these charts.
Without that, the public has no cause to believe you, especially considering your decades-long history of abusing consumer trust and the last batch of charts submitted by Dr. Melinda Fernyhough with help from her shameful accomplice, Dr. Charles T. Gaskins, turned out to be nothing but flagrantly reckless lies.
We’re quite confident the EPA data backing these charts would reflect the same, if not worse, results for Hartz as freely available data from the EPA Public Advisory, Published in March 2010.
The data available from that Advisory revealed you to be the deadliest by far.
Yes, Readers; as sales dwindle, so will incident rates.
Naturally, Hartz will try to be applauded for this.
Congratulations on your lower “incident rates”, Hartz.
We look forward to the day they reach zero.
This concludes Part V and our analysis of the top half of Hartz’ Facebook Flea & Tick Education Tab.
PLEASE NOTE:
We will be taking a short break, in honor of Memorial Day weekend, but will be back on Thursday, May 31 to discuss the bottom half of this very “educational” resource in the conclusion of our “A [sic] Education Tab” series:
We’ll see you then.
=^..^=
Click this link for “‘A [sic] Education Tab’ Part VI”
