Case Study 4B - Emerging contaminants (pharmaceuticals and vultures)

Fate and risk management of multiple chemicals of emerging concern

Eurasian griffon vulture with patagial wing tags that are used to identify individuals from long distances (photo: Marta Herrero-Villar).

Institutions: AU-ENV, UCLM

CS Coordinators: Kai Bester, Rafael Mateo

  • Objectives / Hypothesis

Assess the fate of veterinary pharmaceuticals in treated livestock and their carcasses to link with exposure risk for scavengers and complete a risk assessment and management of supplementary feeding stations.

  • Description of the case study

CS 4B investigates the impact of pharmaceuticals on vulture populations. Previous research has identified high levels of certain pharmaceuticals in deceased vultures, suggesting a link between drug exposure and vulture mortality.

This CS assesses pharmaceutical residues in livestock carcasses monitors pharmaceutical levels in living vultures through non-invasive methods and examines the pathological effects of these drugs on vultures by analysing tissue samples from deceased individuals.

Case Study Goal

  • Exposure assessment

    • Livestock carcasses: pharmaceutical residues and information about time lapse between animal treatment and death

    • Scavengers: non-invasive pharmaceutical residue monitoring (e.g. regurgitated pellets in birds, feces in mammals)

  • Effect assessment - Histopathological examination of diagnostic lesions (e.g. visceral gout) in dead vultures

  • Species

  • Involved stakeholders

  1. National and regional environmental authorities

  2. Wildlife Rehabilitation Centres

  3. Spanish Ornithological Society (SEO-BirdLife)

  4. Farmers associations (AEMPS, ASAJA) groups

  • Locations

Description: Several supplementary feeding stations for vultures across Spain.