Acute poisoning of Red Kites (Milvus milvus) in France: data from the Sagir network

Red Kites (Milvus milvus) are avian scavengers limited to Europe, and they currently are listed as an endangered species worldwide. Accidental poisoning is often listed as one of the threats to Red Kites throughout their range of distribution. The purpose of this article is to investigate the suspected poisoning cases reported to the French Wildlife Disease Surveillance System. Dead animals are submitted to a local veterinary laboratory for necropsy and when poisoning is suspected, samples are submitted to the Toxicology Laboratory of the College of Veterinary Medicine, Lyon, France. Over the period 1992-2002, 62 Red Kites suspected of poisoning were submitted, and poisoning was the confirmed cause of death for greater than 80% of these cases. The major toxicants found were cholinesterase inhibitors (carbamates and organophosphate insecticides) and anticoagulant compounds. The circumstances of exposure include secondary poisoning after the use of anticoagulants over vast areas to control water vole (Arvicola terrestric) populations, but they also include malicious poisoning with carbamates (aldicarb and cabofuran) in meat baits. Cases of poisoning vary throughout France, with observed mortality rates ranging between 0.1/100 hundred breeding pairs/10 yr and four cases/100 hundred breeding pairs/10 yr. Additional cases of poisoning likely go undetected, and our results suggest that acute poisoning is not uncommon in Red Kites and that it should be considered in the current restoration plans.