Diclofenac, an overlooked threat for South American avian scavengers?

GRANDE, J. M.; GELID, L.

Fort Lauderdale

Congreso; Raptor Research Foundation and Florida Ornithological Society Annual Conference; 2022

Raptor Research Foundation and Florida Ornithological Society

At the end of the XXth century several vulture populations in India and Pakistan suffered a massive decline so that highly abundant species become critically endangered in less than a decade. The reason was the widespread intoxication of vultures with diclofenac, a veterinary drug used in livestock treatment. Despite this negative precedent, Europe authorities authorized the use of diclofenac for treating livestock in 2013. Seven years later, the first vulture was found dead intoxicated with the drug. Here we review the use of diclofenac for veterinary use in Southern South America. According to information from the public institutions responsible of sanitary legislation, Diclofenac is widely used in Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay and Bolivia where its used alone or along with antibiotics in recommended doses similar to those authorized in Europe. The lethal effects of Diclofenac on birds have been proven in 6 Gyps sp., the Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) and the Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus) and is suggested to affect other declining vulture species while two species, the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) and the Pied Crow (Coruvs albus) are apparently not affected by the drug. In South America there are 21 scavenging raptor species, including both obligate and facultative. Among them there are Endangered species like the Chaco Eagle (Buteogallus coronatus), Vulnerable like the Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) and Nearly Threatened like the Striated Caracara (Phalcoboenus australis) and the Rufus-tailed Hawk (Buteo ventralis). It is unknown the effects of Diclofenac on these species, however, the dramatic effects of this drug on Asiatic scavenging birds clearly points to the need of urgent monitoring of the exposition and susceptibility of South American scavenging raptors to this drug.