A toxin found in a native plant has been linked to the devastating deaths of 14 pet dogs in Victoria. Authorities believe indospicine, which is mostly found in northern Australia in native plants of the Indigofera species - or a flowering shrub known as indigo - was ingested by livestock which were then slaughtered for raw pet meat and fed to the dogs. The link was uncovered after it was found that all of the dogs had eaten raw meat from the Maffra Knackery in eastern Gippsland before dying from liver failure. The toxin can build up in animals as they graze. There have been no previous reports of issues with indospicine affecting livestock in Victoria. It has been previously detected in northern Australia when dogs died after they were fed infected camel meat.