Study tests intranasal sedation protocol in yellow-legged gulls

A newly published preliminary study suggests veterinarians may have a workable intranasal sedation option for yellow-legged gulls undergoing diagnostic imaging. In BMC Veterinary Research, investigators reported that a diazepam–butorphanol combination delivered through the nares provided adequate sedation in all 16 gulls enrolled, enabling radiographs without physical restraint and without radiation exposure to staff. The paper was published June 12, 2026, and the authors say it is the first intranasal sedation protocol evaluated in gulls. (link.springer.com)

The work addresses a familiar challenge in wildlife and avian medicine: gulls commonly arrive at rehabilitation or veterinary facilities needing imaging or hands-on assessment, but manual restraint can increase stress, injury risk, and handling danger for both the bird and the clinical team. Broader avian medicine literature has increasingly framed procedural sedation as a useful middle path between conscious restraint and full anesthesia, especially for short diagnostics. Imaging references also note that restraint for avian radiography is often inadequate and can expose handlers to avoidable radiation. (link.springer.com)

In the new study, researchers administered intranasal diazepam at 8 mg/kg and butorphanol at 1 mg/kg, split equally between both nares. They monitored physiologic parameters and reflexes to assess sedation depth, then performed radiography during deep sedation. Median time to deep sedation was 10.50 minutes in immature birds and 13.03 minutes in adults, a difference that was not statistically significant. Recovery and perching occurred at medians of roughly 110 minutes, and radiographs were completed without restraint while still producing diagnostic-quality images. The manuscript also reports significant physiologic differences between the restraint and sedation periods, supporting the idea that the protocol changed the birds’ stress and handling state in clinically meaningful ways. (link.springer.com)

This isn’t the first signal that the combination may be useful in this species. A 2025 study in yellow-legged gulls using the same intranasal diazepam–butorphanol doses found reliable sedation for ophthalmic assessment without adverse effects, although the authors cautioned that sedation influenced several ocular measurements and should be considered when interpreting exam findings. That earlier work helps position the new paper as part of a small but growing species-specific evidence base, rather than a one-off report. (agris.fao.org)

Direct outside commentary on the new paper appears limited so far, which isn’t unusual for a just-published wildlife anesthesia study. Still, the broader avian sedation literature supports the clinical logic behind the approach: sedation can reduce the downsides of forceful restraint, but drug choice, route, and species response matter. Reviews of avian sedation describe intranasal administration as an increasingly practical route in birds, and previous bird studies have highlighted its ease of delivery and potential to avoid injection-related muscle trauma, especially in small or stressed patients. (bioone.org)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, especially those in wildlife hospitals, zoos, exotics practices, and rehabilitation settings, the paper offers a potentially useful protocol for cases where rapid imaging is needed but general anesthesia may be more than the moment requires. A protocol that avoids physical restraint could improve welfare, reduce staff injury risk, and simplify workflow around radiography. At the same time, the study is preliminary, involved only 16 birds, and did not establish superiority over other sedation or anesthesia methods. That means it’s best read as an encouraging clinical option, not a settled standard of care. (link.springer.com)

There are also practical caveats. Recovery times of around 110 minutes may be acceptable in rehabilitation settings, but they could limit throughput in some practices. And as the ophthalmic study suggests, clinicians should be cautious about how sedation may influence certain diagnostic measurements. Species, age class, case condition, and procedure type will all matter when deciding whether intranasal diazepam–butorphanol is the right fit. (link.springer.com)

What to watch: The obvious next questions are scale and comparison: whether larger cohorts confirm safety and consistency, whether similar results hold in other gull species or wild seabirds, and how this protocol performs against injectable sedation or inhalant anesthesia in terms of onset, image quality, adverse events, and recovery time. If follow-up studies support the early findings, this could become a useful addition to wildlife and avian sedation toolkits. (link.springer.com)