Confiscated birds and reptiles show distinct mortality patterns

CURRENT BRIEF VERSION: A new pathology report from Spain adds detail to a problem many wildlife and regulatory teams already know well: confiscated CITES-listed birds and reptiles often arrive at rescue centers with complex, species-specific health burdens that are hard to manage with standard protocols. In a postmortem review of 29 animals housed at the Fundación para la Investigación en Etología y Biodiversidad (FIEB) between 2021 and 2024, researchers from Complutense University of Madrid and collaborators found that infectious disease accounted for most bird deaths, while metabolic and nutritional disease was the leading category in reptiles. Birds most often showed enteritis, hepatitis, and renal gout, while reptiles commonly had hepatocellular atrophy, biliary stasis, and renal gout. The team also reported bacterial infections in both groups, with suspected avian polyomavirus, herpesvirus, and bornavirus in birds, plus Leukocytozoon in one bird. Related avian pathology work also continues to show how specialized some lesions can be: a separate retrospective study of 12 aquatic birds with neuroschistosomiasis found schistosomes in the brain, sometimes with granulomatous inflammation, and identified Dendritobilharzia pulverulenta by PCR in several cases, underscoring the diagnostic complexity that can surface in bird collections and rescue settings. (esvp-ecvp-estp-congress.eu)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the findings reinforce that confiscated wildlife can't be treated as a uniform population, even inside the same rescue facility. The authors concluded that the range of lesions and species involved supports more individualized treatment and management strategies whenever feasible, rather than broad population-based approaches. That aligns with CITES guidance on confiscated live specimens, which points authorities toward rescue-center placement, disease screening, and welfare-focused disposition decisions, and with broader literature showing wildlife trade can amplify infectious disease and zoonotic risk. Similar work in confiscated psittacines in Colombia has also highlighted pathogen circulation in rehabilitation settings, underscoring the biosecurity stakes for staff, other animals, and any future release decisions. Unusual avian infections such as neuroschistosomiasis, which was considered likely related to death in 5 of 12 aquatic birds in one retrospective pathology series, are another reminder that necropsy and targeted diagnostics can materially change case understanding. (esvp-ecvp-estp-congress.eu)

What to watch: Watch for publication of the full peer-reviewed paper and for whether rescue centers or regulators translate these findings into more species-specific quarantine, nutrition, diagnostics, and release protocols. In birds especially, that may include closer attention to less routine differentials when neurologic or unexplained mortality patterns emerge. (esvp-ecvp-estp-congress.eu)