New publication - Significant Turning Point: Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) Exposure to Second-Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides in the United Kingdom

Submitted by Shinji Ozaki on

A new paper has been published as an output of the EU Life Apex project (https://lifeapex.eu/) involving the analysis of samples provided by the PBMS.

The paper focuses on the relationship between exposure pattern of wildlife to second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) and regulatory changes.

SGARs are widely used to control rodent pest populations, but their use results in serious secondary exposure of wild predatory animals. In the United Kingdom (UK), there are five SGARs currently used: two less potent SGARs (bromadiolone and difenacoum) and three more toxic ones (brodifacoum, flocoumafen, and difethialone). The professional use and purchase of SGARs were revised in the 2010s, and the use of these three highly toxic SGARs outdoors around buildings has been authorised for controlling rodent populations with resistance to anticoagulants. However, it is still uncertain whether and how these regulatory changes have influenced the secondary exposure of birds of prey to SGARs.

This research assessed the temporal trend of exposure to SGARs and a possible relationship between the temporal trend and the regulatory changes, based on biomonitoring of common buzzard (Buteo buteo) collected from 2001 to 2019 across the UK. The findings indicate a possible shift in the SGAR use after the regulatory changes that possibly pose higher risks of impacts on wildlife.

(From Ozaki et al., 2024)

For the full text, see https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.3c09052

For all of our papers, see https://pbms.ceh.ac.uk/content/scientific-papers

For information about the EU LIfe Apex Project, see https://lifeapex.eu/

 

Reference

Significant turning point: common buzzard (Buteo buteo) exposure to second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides in the United Kingdom. Shinji Ozaki, Paola Movalli, Alessandra Cincinelli, Nikiforos Alygizakis, Alexander Badry, Heather Carter, Jacqueline S. Chaplow, Daniela Claßen, René W.R. J. Dekker, Beverley Dodd, Guy Duke, Jan Koschorreck, M. Glória Pereira, Elaine Potter, Darren Sleep, Jaroslav Slobodnik, Nikolaos S. Thomaidis, Gabriele Treu, and Lee Walker. 2024. Environmental Science & Technology, 58 (14). 6093-6104. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c09052

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