Dog walkers have been warned to be cautious as an extremely toxic substance has been discovered on a field.

Several cattle boluses have been found on Hyde Hill, between Bothenhampton and Walditch, and contain a substance called Monensin which can be extremely toxic, if eaten, to dogs and horses, according to Bredy Veterinary Centre.

In November, a dog died after eating parts of discarded cattle bolus in the same area, when several of the items - used to control metabolic disease in some cattle - were found hidden in grass.

A dog walker, who wished to remain anonymous, claims to have found several more in the past few weeks.

The dog walker said: “Within a five-minute period, and in one single field, I picked up around seven boluses - some intact and some ruptured. All were very close to a footpath popular with walkers. Dogs could easily pick them up in their mouths. Small children could also gather them up and involuntarily ingest the toxin from their fingers. We regularly walked on these hills with our children and the boluses could be mistaken for plastic toys. I feel certain that our son would have picked them up as a young child.

“Given that one dog has already died as a result of these boluses, I find it hard to believe that they are still so prolific in an area frequented by dog walkers and the general public. There are no warning signs and therefore no indication that toxins are present.”

The walker reported the incident to police and West Dorset District Council’s environmental health department, both of which are working with the land owner to solve the issue.

Cllr Alan Thacker, WDDC spokesman for community safety and access, said: “We are aware of the cattle boluses found in the field.

“The land owner has permission from the Environment Agency to spread abattoir waste over their land which may have caused the distribution of boluses.

“We are working with the land owner, Environment Agency and other partners to ensure these are removed and disposed of in the correct manner.

“We recommend dog walkers avoid this field or walk their dog on a lead until the boluses are cleared.”

Dorset Police confirmed they received a report shortly before 6pm on Tuesday, April 3 from a member of the public in Bothenhampton on the discovery of seven cattle boluses containing potentially toxic substances.

The matter was referred to the fire service so its hazardous materials experts could deal with the incident and give appropriate advice. There was no further police involvement.

The News has attempted to contact the land owner for comment. 

Ivan Hancock, Trading Standards Service manager at Dorset County Council, said: “Our Animal Health and Welfare team was made aware of these boluses (small capsules) that had been found scattered over fields and shared the concern of local residents. An officer visited the fields concerned and made enquiries. We have been liaising with several other agencies, a distributor for the boluses and a business which had been ‘muck spreading’ on the land. These capsules are supplied by vets to administer to cows in calf if their energy levels need boosting.

“The stomach contents of slaughtered animals, although not any other part of an animal, can later legally be spread as a fertiliser. This explains how they ended up in the fields.

“Further enquiries showed that the small amount of substance left in the capsules did not give rise to any concerns about risk to human health, or indeed the food chain. The capsules have now been removed from the fields and no further ‘spreading’ will take place there. The business concerned is taking steps to ensure such capsules are removed before any similar ‘muck spreading’ is done so as no undue alarm is caused in future.”

The News has attempted to contact the land owner for comment.