Fatal gunshot injuries in the common buzzard Buteo buteo L. 1758 \u2013 imaging and ballistic findings

Filip Pankowski,Małgorzata Dzierzęcka,Joanna Bonecka,Bartłomiej J Bartyzel,Joanna Misiewicz,Alfred Staszak,Filip Rzepiński,Grzegorz Bogiel,Sławomir Paśko

doi:10.1007/s12024-018-0017-4

Abstract

The conservation of the common buzzard is assured by the European Union law. In Poland, this wild bird is under strict species protection and it is used as a bioindicator for heavy metals in the environment. A case of the fatal shooting of a buzzard with a firearm by an unidentified shooter is described here. Macroscopic evaluation, X-ray imaging, post-mortem computed tomography, ballistic examination of the isolated bullets and finally a simulation of the assumed position of the bird at the time of the shot were performed. Numerous pellets were found inside the body, together with multiple bone fractures and central nervous system trauma. The buzzard died most probably as a result of spinal cord injury from a single shot that was fired from a smoothbore hunting gun. Collected evidence was insufficient to identify the shooter, which sadly confirms that identification of the perpetrator in wildlife forensics remains low.

Highlights

Over time, people are increasingly protecting the environment [1]
One of the examples of active protection in Poland is caring for the growth of common buzzard populations as a species that is a bioindicator for heavy metals in the environment [2, 3]
The features and appearance of elements M1 – M3 indicated that they were lead pellets, constituting a load of shotgun shell, intended for firing from a smoothbore hunting weapon. Their weight indicated that their nominal diameter was 3.5 mm, assuming they were made of a lead alloy with 3% antimony, with a specific gravity of 11.10 g/cm3. This buzzard probably died as a result of spinal cord injury at the level of the C8 - C9 vertebrae

Summary

Introduction

People are increasingly protecting the environment [1]. One of the examples of active protection in Poland is caring for the growth of common buzzard populations as a species that is a bioindicator for heavy metals in the environment [2, 3]. The common buzzard is under strict species protection in Poland. According to the latest data, there are no more than 50 thousand breeding pairs of this bird in the

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