Anticoagulants in barn owls, eagle owls and golden eagles

The Oekotox Centre has already investigated the exposure of Swiss wildlife, and in particular birds of prey, to anticoagulants in two previous projects. These substances are used as rodenticides and cause a delayed death in rodents. Birds of prey ingest the poison when they feed on dead mice or rats, and the substances accumulate in their own livers. This project examines specialised hunters such as barn owls, eagle owls and golden eagles for their exposure to anticoagulants. Furthermore, the pharmaceutical active ingredient pentobarbital has been incorporated into the chemical analysis method, as it is occasionally used (illegally) in targeted poisonings and we are now able to investigate such cases of poisoning.