One Health approach to use of veterinary pharmaceuticals

Abstract

Weak environmental assessments undermine regulations

Importance of Long-Term Studies to Conservation Practice: The Case of the Bearded Vulture in the Pyrenees

“…The long-term monitoring has revealed how illegal poisoning, the most important non-natural mortality factor (Margalida 2012), is increasing over time and the demographic simulations suggest a regressive scenario in population dynamics if this factor is not eliminated . Anthropogenic activities through human health regulations that affect habitat quality can also suddenly modify demographic parameters (Margalida et al 2014c). Our findings suggest a delay in laying dates and a regressive trend in clutch size, breeding success and survival following the policy change.…”

“…Our findings suggest a delay in laying dates and a regressive trend in clutch size, breeding success and survival following the policy change. Finally, the recent approved veterinary use of diclofenac in Spain (Margalida et al 2014c) can threaten the scavenger guild community. This new risk requires a programme of monitoring of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug contamination of ungulate carcases available to vultures and of moribund and dead obligate and facultative avian scavengers would be needed to be confident that a damaging level of contamination is not present (Green et al 2016).…”

“…For example, the recent and sudden appearance of non-natural mortality factors related to the ingestion of veterinary drugs (i.e. diclofenac) or the increase in the use of illegal poison baits severely affected populations of Old World vultures (Green et al 2004(Green et al , 2006Virani et al 2011;Margalida 2012;Margalida et al 2014c). In parallel, a recent change in European health policy may be exacerbating the precarious status of these large species.…”

“…to eliminate corpses avoiding the presence of carrion in the field vs. to conserve scavenger species; Donázar et al 2009b;Margalida et al 2010). Implementation of the sanitation policy appears to have undermined conservation goals, as evidenced by, for example, in the same area with Eurasian griffon vultures in which an annual decrease in breeding success, reduced population growth, increased mortality on young age classes and changes in diet and behaviour is observed (Donázar et al 2009bZuberogoitia et al 2010;Margalida et al 2011dMargalida et al , 2014c. Our results confirm these observations with empirical, long-term data on another vulture species.…”

Toward carrion‐free ecosystems?

“…In Spain, after an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Donázar et al 2009;Margalida et al 2012) and the approval of the use of diclofenac -a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug -in animal health applications (Margalida et al 2014 Nugent et al 2002), there is no scientific consensus regarding the link between wild boar scavenging on wild ungulate carcasses and TB prevalence (Gortázar et al 2015). According to existing national legislation, any by-products from big game hunting (such as meat, horn, or bone) sold commercially for human use or consumption require a thorough veterinary inspection on-site (in the field) to determine whether disease is present.…”