Tulip festival bans dogs after pet's death

A tulip festival has made the decision to no longer allow dogs to visit after the death of a pet.

Jemma Ladwitch, 42, had attended Farmer Copleys Tulip Festival with her spaniel, Bobby, who died just three hours after visiting the attraction.

The owners of Farmer Copleys in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, stated they were "deeply saddened" by the incident and as a "precautionary measure" had made the decision to no longer permit dogs for the remainder of the season. A pick-your-own area has also been closed.

The festival, which runs for four weeks, was previously a dog-friendly event, with visitors encouraged to take pictures among the flowers.

However, tulips, when ingested by dogs, can cause issues such as an upset stomach or more severe effects such as breathing difficulties and seizures as they irritate dogs' mouths, stomachs and skin.

This can occur through not only through dogs eating tulip bulbs or the flower itself, but also by licking contaminated soil.

The three-year-old springer spaniel died after having seizures believed to have been caused by plant toxicity.

"The vet asked where we'd been. We said the tulip festival and she told us tulips were highly toxic to dogs.

"He had no illnesses, no health issues. He was just gone within three hours," Ladwitch said.

Farmer Copleys said: "The safety and wellbeing of all our visitors and their pets is something we take extremely seriously. As a precautionary measure, we have made the difficult decision to no longer permit dogs at our tulip festival for the remainder of the season.

"We must stress while the exact cause of this incident remains unknown, many flowers and plants in outdoor environments can pose risks to dogs if ingested, particularly the bulb, and we do not wish to take any further risk."

Visitors with pre-booked tickets who feel they can no longer attend are able to request refunds, and assistance dogs can still go onto the farm as long as their owners sign a waiver.

Family-run Farmer Copleys holds a number of events throughout the year, including sunflower, strawberry and pumpkin festivals.

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