Right, they are fumigated, but if you check the thread below, you'll find Naturestee's comment of:
naturestee wrote: I was a little t'd off that thePier 1 toys I had been assured were safe were actually *not* completelysafe. After all, I've seen lots of reassurances on bothEtherbun and Petbunny that these were good toys. That willteach me to do my own research!
But, me being who I am, I sat down and figured out what I thought aboutthese products and the fumigation that's done to them. Iconcluded that I will not take away my buns' dragongrass matts, and Imight still purchase the occasional Pier 1 matt or willow ball as atoy. Here's my reasoning, which you are free to disagree with(and please do, if you do).
- From what I know from entomology classes and my hubby knows fromfarming, fumigants/pesticides that are currently in use are designed tobreak down fairly quickly in the environment. This is bothfor environmental reasons and because most insecticides work on thenervous system in general and can be just as harmful to humans andother animals.
-Import rules usually require that pesticides used on products enteringthe US fall under US standards for our protection.Importation probably requires fumigation to prevent the entry of exoticinsect species to our country, which I can tell you are alreadydevastating enough. Knowing how the government works,specific fumigants are at least recommended if not required by law.
-Everything my rabbits eat has already been treated with variouspesticides and herbicides. Veggies, hay, the products that gointo pellets, etc. Unless they are certifiedorganic, most sources of materials for rabbit toys are probably"contaminated" also. Everything gets sprayed nowadays.
-My rabbits don't actually eat much of these toys. Theydestroy them and throw the majority of the bits around. Verylittle is actually consumed.
All in all, I feel that the danger to my rabbits is minimal.However, I have no data to back this up. So don't take thisas hard evidence, it's just my opinion.
and
This is being talked about on another site now, too. Someonethere emailed Pier 1, and a Customer Relations Rep emailed her back andsaid yes, imported products are fumigated. But she also saidthat this should NOT be harmful to animals.
So, yes, they are fumigated, but are NOT harmful for animals.I am VERY conscious about what I give my animals, and still give themthese mats, so I honestly wouldn't worry about it.
Here's the thread I got it from:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12880&forum_id=1&highlight=Pier
On that note, I haven't been able to find them lately, either, for somereason. I think they have taken them out of their stock toallow room for the Christmas-y stuff...possibly...hopefully.It was nice here in Ca to find a good grass rug that actually took thebuns some time to consume, that was only $5!
Hopefully they'll be back in stores and online after Christmas...:?
Edit: Quoted the wrong thing, teehee!
