Information for Animal Owners

If you suspect that an animal under your care had an adverse reaction to a veterinary medicine, or if the product did not work as intended, you can report this to the HPRA.

If you experienced an adverse reaction when administering a veterinary medicinal product to an animal, you can also report that reaction.

We recommend that you seek the advice of a veterinary practitioner before reporting to us, to ensure that the information is accurate and comprehensive.

The following data must be provided in order for the report to be valid:

• an identifiable reporter (e.g. vet practitioner, pharmacist, animal owner);
• animal/human details; species, age, sex;
• suspect product; name and authorisation number;
• reaction details

The HPRA will only contact the reporter to acknowledge the report and, if necessary, to clarify the details. 

Typically the receipt of one report will not result in any action however should a pattern of adverse reactions for a product emerge, appropriate regulatory action will be taken.

The role of animal owners

A short video presentation is available below that has been specifically prepared for animal owners and which explains their role in monitoring the safety and effectiveness of veterinary medicines. The video also provides information on the different types of adverse events, examples of adverse events, the importance of reporting adverse events, how and to whom adverse events should be reported.

A full transcript of this video is also available to download.

Note on website cookies

Please note that the videos are only available to view if you have selected the relevant preferences in the cookie settings for our website. The videos are also available to view on our YouTube account.