Epidemiological Study of Pesticide Poisoning in Domestic Animals and Wildlife in Portugal: 2014–2020

Abstract

Nowadays the intentional poisoning of domestic and wild animals is a crime in the European Union (EU), but as in the past the poison is still used in rural areas of a number of European countries to kill animals that were considered harmful for human activities. From January 2014 up until October 2020, the Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (LFT-FMV) has done the analytical detection of poisoning substances in 503 samples of wildlife and domestic animals and pesticides residues were found in 239 of the samples analyzed. In this retrospective study, toxicology results from domestic species (dog, cat, sheep, cows, and horses), wildlife species (red foxes, birds of prey, lynx, and wild boar), and food baits, are presented. During this period the samples analyzed at the LFT-FMV, were received from all over the country. Analytical detections were performed via solvent extraction followed by thin layer chromatography. Molluscicides (47%, n = 109) and Carbamates (24%, n = 57) were found to be the first category of pesticides involved in intoxications, in both domestic and wild animals, followed by rodenticides (13%, n = 30)—in this group second and third generation, were the most represented; Strychnine is the third (11%, n = 26) even though this pesticide has been banned in Portugal since 1988 and in the European Union since 2006 and finally Organophosphates (5%, n = 11) in the small number. This study allowed to realize that a great number of positive samples involved banned pesticides (i.e., Aldicarb and Strychnine) but, at the same time, many positives cases were due to the exposure to commercially available products (i.e., Methiocarb and Anticoagulant rodenticides). Also, it's possible to identify the areas where domestic species are the most affected (i.e., Setubal and Lisboa) and the areas where the wild animals are the mainly affected species (i.e., Faro, Castelo Branco, and Bragança).

Epidemiology of Animal Poisonings in the Canary Islands (Spain) during the Period 2014–2021

“…In conjunction with our previous report of poisonings in the Canary Islands [4], our results indicate that the incidence of poisonings in this archipelago is very high and probably higher than in other European regions [7,9,9,14,41,48]. Moreover, the profile of toxi- In conjunction with our previous report of poisonings in the Canary Islands [4], our results indicate that the incidence of poisonings in this archipelago is very high and probably higher than in other European regions [7,9,14,41,48]. Moreover, the profile of toxicants that we have found suggests that many of these poisonings occur intentionally, given the high prevalence of substances whose use in agriculture would be illegal throughout the EU.…”

“…This significance was maintained for all the cut-off points tested (total number of livestock in the municipality; livestock density (number of heads/hectare); and livestock density/population density) (Figure 6, right). In conjunction with our previous report of poisonings in the Canary Islands [4], our results indicate that the incidence of poisonings in this archipelago is very high and probably higher than in other European regions [7,9,9,14,41,48]. Moreover, the profile of toxi- In conjunction with our previous report of poisonings in the Canary Islands [4], our results indicate that the incidence of poisonings in this archipelago is very high and probably higher than in other European regions [7,9,14,41,48].…”

“…Poison remains one of the most important conservation threats faced by many wildlife species, and it also affects domestic animals frequently [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. There are numerous chemicals that can affect animals, but perhaps the group of agricultural pesticides is the most important [13].…”

Developing a European network of analytical laboratories and government institutions to prevent poisoning of raptors

“…Regarding detection in raptor poisoning cases in the European laboratories, carbamates, ARs and organophosphates (OPs) were the group of compounds most frequently detected. This is consistent with the literature on poisoning cases (Berny et al, 2010;Chiari et al, 2017;Grilo et al, 2021;Guitart et al, 2010;Motas-Guzmán et al, 2003;Parvanov et al, 2018;Uros & Andevski, 2018). Barbiturates are pharmaceuticals widely used in veterinary medicine, and they are involved in accidental secondary poisoning (Herrero-Villar et al, 2021;Wells et al, 2020).…”

Development, Optimization, and Validation of Forensic Analytical Method for Quantification of Anticholinesterase Pesticides in Biological Matrices from Suspected Cases of Animal Poisoning

“…Cases of the accidental exposure and intentional poisoning of animals via the administration of anticholinesterase pesticides have been reported in several countries [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Common pesticides include carbamates (CBs, e.g., aldicarb and carbofuran) and organophosphates (OPs, e.g., parathion), which are intended for domestic and agricultural needs.…”