Pentobarbital intoxication as a potential underlying cause for electrocution in a bearded vulture.
Vet Res Commun
; 47(4): 2265-2269, 2023 Dec.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37145336
ABSTRACT
A bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) found dead in northern Spain presented external lesions consistent with electrocution as the cause of death. During forensic examination, macroscopic lesions suggested potential comorbidity, so samples were collected for molecular and toxicological analyses. Gastric content and liver were analysed for toxic substances, and pentobarbital (a common pharmaceutical used for euthanasia in domestic animals) was detected at a concentration of 37.3 and 0.05 µg/g, respectively. Other toxicological, viral and endoparasite analyses (avian malaria, avian influenza and flaviviruses) were negative. Thus, although the cause of death was electrocution, pentobarbital intoxication likely impaired the equilibrium and reflexes of the individual, possibly causing the bird to contact energized wires that it would not have otherwise. These results underline the importance of comprehensive analysis of forensic cases of wildlife deaths and reveal barbiturate poisoning as an additional threat for the conservation of the bearded vulture in Europe.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Health context:
3_ND
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Poisons
/
Falconiformes
Limits:
Animals
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
Vet Res Commun
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article