Abstract
The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is strictly protected in Poland due to its threat of extinction. This study’s main goal was to assess their exposure to indirect poisoning by anticoagulant rodenticides (AR). This study presents the investigation results of 40 white-tailed eagles’ suspected poisoning cases in the years 2018–2020 in Poland. In all tested liver samples, using a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry method, at least one of the AR (bromadiolone, brodifacoum, difenacoum, flocoumafen) was detected and confirmed. The other tested AR compounds (chlorophacinone, coumachlor, coumatetralyl, difethialone, diphacinone, warfarin) were not detected. The mean concentration of the sum of rodenticides was 174.4 µg/kg (from 2.5 to 1225.0 µg/kg). In 20 cases, the sum concentration was above 100 µg/kg and in 10 cases it was above 200 µg/kg. Interpretation of cases of AR poisonings should take into account their concentration in the liver, anatomopathological lesions, circumstances of death/finding of the animal, and elimination of other possible causes of poisoning. Based on this study, AR was the direct cause of death in 10% of incidents. Extensive use of rodenticides generates a high risk of poisonings of white-tailed eagles in Poland.
Highlights
The discovery of anticoagulant rodenticides and their high efficacy significantly changed the game in the field of rodent control and led to their widespread and extensive use worldwide [1]
In contrast to Walter et al [14], who suggested that the risk of indirect poisoning by brodifacoum is minimal, we found many publications documenting cases of direct and indirect anticoagulant rodenticides (AR) poisonings of wildlife [1,4,5,8,13,15,16,17,18,19]
In 50% of cases, the sum of AR concentration was above 100 μg/kg, and in 25% of cases it was above 200 μg/kg
Summary
The discovery of anticoagulant rodenticides and their high efficacy significantly changed the game in the field of rodent control and led to their widespread and extensive use worldwide [1] Their mechanism of action (inhibiting the activation of vitamin K) caused clotting disorders and gradual bleeding of animals [2,3]. First-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs) (e.g., warfarin, coumachlor) had a relatively short elimination time from the body [4] They required several exposures to induce a toxic effect, and their extensive use tended to lead to occurrences of genetic resistance [1,5,6]. In addition to these, ARs are often detected in birds of prey
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