Caffeine and drugs have become the daily “cocktail” of Vultures feeding in garbage heaps and landfills. This is reflected in a study conducted by scientists from the Wildlife Toxicology Research Group of the Hunting Resources Research Institute – which includes the University of Castilla-La Mancha and the Higher Council for Scientific Research – and the University of the Highlands and Islands (Great Britain).
The study examined the role of garbage heaps in the exposure of griffon vultures (“Gyps fulvus”) to 49 veterinary drugs through the carrion of treated animals. The Presence of caffeine in vulture plasma It also points out that urban landfills are often used for food.
They have already been described in Spain Side effects of some medications B. NSAIDs, barbiturates, external antiparasitics and antibiotics in various species of carrion birds, some with fatal consequences. Despite his widespread use in veterinary medicine Particularly in intensive livestock farming, there has been little research into whether these compounds from the carcasses of animals treated with medication occur in the bodies of the carrion birds that consume them.
In this research work Up to 18 different drugs were detected 54.1% of cattle carried carrion to the chicken piles to feed the vultures, noting the presence of some highly poisonous vultures, such as: Diclofenac, flunixin and ketoprofen. In addition, the abuse of some of these compounds has been observed in animal species for which their use is not approved.
Indicator
Caffeine was also detected in the plasma of 73.7% of vultures sampled from municipal landfills. According to this paper, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, this novel finding suggests so Caffeine could be a good biomarker for the uptake of municipal waste in landfills just as lead detected in blood is an indicator of consumption of wild meat by vultures.
The research concludes that “Vultures…” are regularly exposed to a variety of medications In Spain and in particular, a link is observed between this exposure and the contributions of pig and chicken carrion in the landfills.” It is also highlighted that the standards indicated in the package inserts of certain drugs, such as diclofenac and flunixin, are not sufficient to prevent them enter the food chains of carrion birds.
The study recommends a stricter control of carrion Used to feed vultures and prevent the corpses of farm animals that have been treated with highly toxic drugs in the hours or days before their death from reaching the trash heap or being dumped in the countryside.
