EPA: Hunte Kennel Systems Agrees to Pay Fine to Settle Insecticide Violation

The U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) reported on Dec. 21 that Hunte Kennel Systems and Animal Care Inc. of Goodman, Mo., has agreed to pay a $56,632 civil penalty to settle allegations that the company violated federal regulations by repackaging, relabeling and selling an insecticide meant for use on cattle and hogs as a flea and tick treatment for dogs.

Calls seeking comment from the pet supply dealer, which is a division of The Hunte Corp., were not immediately returned.

According to the EPA, Hunte Kennel Systems violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act by taking the pesticide Prolate/Lintox-HD, which is formulated to treat cattle and swine, bottling it into different packaging and selling it as a pesticide for dogs under the name Paramite.

Federal officials said the Missouri Department of Agriculture discovered the violation during inspections of Hunte Kennel Systems’ facilities in Goodman and Buffalo, Mo., in October 2006. During that time, the company was ordered to immediately stop selling the repackaged pesticide. Paramite is no longer manufactured as a flea and tick treatment for dogs, according to the EPA.