DOG owners in the South Hams are being asked to be on the lookout for palm oil on local beaches.

Palm oil usually looks like lumps of white or yellow wax when it is found washed up on beaches. In the past it has led to the death or seriously illness of pets who have ingested it while they're being walked.

This time, no cases have so far been reported in the South Hams, but if your dog has a habit of eating things on beaches, be on the lookout for anything unusual.

Hariet from South Moor Vets, in Kingsbridge, confirms one case of poisoning from palm oil a few months ago and Natasha Prior, veterinary nurse at Selworthy Vets, Kingsbridge, said: 'We haven't had any cases recently but we did hear of a few cases over the summer, this seemed to occur after storms, when there was a lot of debris.

'We have been advising owners to be very vigilant when on the beach with their dogs and to not allow them to eat anything on the beach.'

This week palm oil has been spotted on the North Devon coast and there are fears it could be more widespread.

Oil palms are originally from Western Africa, but can flourish wherever heat and rainfall are abundant. Today, palm oil is grown throughout Africa, Asia, North America, and South America, with 85 per cent of all palm oil globally produced and exported from Indonesia and Malaysia. The industry is linked to major issues such as deforestation, habitat degradation, climate change, animal cruelty and indigenous rights abuses in the countries where it is produced, as the land and forests must be cleared for the development of the oil palm plantations.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, an area the equivalent size of 300 football fields is cleared each hour to make way for palm oil production and deforestation is pushing many species to extinction.

Keep an eye out for anything suspicious on the beaches and call South Hams Council on: 01803 861234 or 01803 867034 for out of hours, or the Environment Agency on 0370 8506506.

To find out more about palm oil and it's effects, visit: http://www.saynotopalmoil.com">www.saynotopalmoil.com.