Study details disease burden in confiscated birds and reptiles
CURRENT FULL VERSION: Confiscated birds and reptiles entering wildlife rescue systems may be carrying more than the visible effects of trafficking. A new Spanish postmortem review, presented at the 2025 ESVP-ECVP congress, found that deaths among CITES-listed birds and reptiles housed at a CITES-authorized rescue center were commonly associated with infectious disease in birds and with both metabolic and infectious disease in reptiles. The cases came from Fundación para la Investigación en Etología y Biodiversidad, or FIEB, a rescue center in Spain that receives victims of illegal wildlife trade. (esvp-ecvp-estp-congress.eu)
The backdrop is a long-running challenge for regulators and veterinary teams: once live animals are seized, authorities still need somewhere safe, lawful, and clinically capable to place them. Under CITES, a rescue centre is an institution designated by a Management Authority to care for living specimens, especially those that have been seized or confiscated, and CITES guidance on disposal of live confiscated specimens emphasizes quarantine, recordkeeping, and disease-risk management. Those requirements reflect a basic reality of confiscation medicine: the legal seizure is only the start of the case. (cites.org)
In the Spanish review, researchers analyzed 29 animals that died between 2021 and 2024, including 17 birds from 12 species and 12 reptiles from 9 species. They performed complete necropsies and histopathology through a collaboration between FIEB and the Complutense University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Among birds, 52% of deaths were associated with infectious disease and 17% with metabolic or nutritional disease. Among reptiles, 50% of deaths were associated with metabolic or nutritional disease and 41% with infections. 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, suspected avian polyomavirus, herpesvirus, and bornavirus in four birds, and Leukocytozoon in one bird. (esvp-ecvp-estp-congress.eu)
That pattern fits with broader concerns around wildlife trafficking and rehabilitation medicine. A 2021 review of illegal wildlife trade and emerging infectious disease found sparse surveillance overall, but documented 240 pathogens across published cases linked to illegal trade, with birds and reptiles among the most commonly affected taxa. The same review noted that most seized events involved live animals, meaning rescue centers and receiving institutions are often the first places where disease risks become visible. Separate work in confiscated psittacines in Colombia, for example, found a high prevalence of Chlamydia psittaci, reinforcing the occupational and public health stakes around intake and quarantine. (mdpi.com)
Recent pathology literature also reinforces how broad that infectious differential can be in birds, and how much may depend on postmortem workup. In a retrospective Veterinary Pathology study of 12 aquatic birds with neuroschistosomiasis, schistosomes were identified in the brain, sometimes with granulomatous inflammation, and the infection was considered likely related to death in 5 of the 12 birds. The median age was 12 years. Using PCR and sequencing on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded and fresh tissue, investigators identified Dendritobilharzia pulverulenta in several samples, adding molecular confirmation to a lesion pattern that had previously been described mostly in swans and geese. It is not a trafficking study, but it is a useful reminder for clinicians and pathologists that avian infectious disease in managed populations can include unexpected parasitic causes with neurologic involvement, and that histology plus molecular testing may be needed to reach a specific diagnosis. (Veterinary Pathology)
Industry and field commentary points in the same direction. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums has described confiscated wildlife care as a coordination challenge that can strain placement networks, and reported that reptiles were the most frequently confiscated taxa in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data from 2015 to 2019. In one cited example, smuggled box turtles required 11 months of permanent quarantine and significant medical attention before rehoming. That’s not a direct parallel to the Spanish cases, but it illustrates the same operational issue: confiscations create prolonged veterinary, husbandry, and biosecurity demands that extend well beyond the initial seizure. (aza.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this study is useful because it narrows the conversation from trafficking as a conservation problem to trafficking as a clinical workload with predictable risk patterns. Infectious disease in birds, metabolic and nutritional compromise in reptiles, renal gout in both groups, and multi-system pathology all argue for robust intake exams, species-appropriate nutrition from day one, strong quarantine design, and access to pathology support. The broader pathology literature adds another point: uncommon infectious processes may only become clear after necropsy, histology, and targeted molecular testing, as shown by recent molecularly confirmed avian neuroschistosomiasis cases. The authors concluded that the diversity of pathologies and species involved supports more individualized treatment strategies, rather than relying too heavily on population-based management approaches that may be common in other zoological institutions. That’s especially relevant for centers handling mixed confiscations, where species-specific needs can differ sharply and histories are often incomplete or unreliable. (esvp-ecvp-estp-congress.eu)
What to watch: The key next step is publication of a full paper with more detail on species, diagnostics, husbandry histories, and case outcomes. If those data are released, they could help rescue centers, veterinary hospitals, and regulators refine triage pathways, quarantine periods, nutrition plans, and decisions about rehabilitation versus permanent placement under CITES frameworks. It would also be worth watching whether future confiscation case series incorporate more routine molecular follow-up for unusual infectious lesions, especially in birds, to avoid missing less familiar pathogens or parasites. (esvp-ecvp-estp-congress.eu)