Survey of avifauna housed in the wild animal triage centers in the state of Bahia, period 2009 to 2019, emphasizing trafficking

ABSTRACT: Brazil is one of the primary suppliers of wildlife for trafficking, which constitutes a significant threat to biodiversity, which can cause the extinction of species, especially birds, the most important victims of trafficking. This study analyzed the wild avifauna collected in the Triage Centers of Wild Animals (CETAS) of Bahia, to inventory the most apprehended species that are threatened with extinction, and estimate the municipalities that function as suppliers and traders of wildlife. Data from 2009 to 2019 were made available by the Salvador and Vitoria da Conquista units, and that from 2010 to 2016 was made available by the, Porto Seguro unit. The survey was conducted through the entry records of birds, considering apprehension, spontaneous deliveries, rescues, and transfers between units involved in the study. Out of the total 80,948 birds analyzed, 65,315 (80.68%) were apprehended; 7,885 (9.74%) were voluntary deliveries; 6,196 (7.65%) were rescues, and 1,034 (1.28%) were transfers. There was no entry modality for 518 (0.64%) specimens. The most trafficked species were Sicalis flaveola (Saffron Finch), Sporophila nigricollis (Yellow-bellied Seedeater), Paroaria dominicana (Red-cowlead Cardinal), Cyanoloxia brissonii (Ultramarine Grosbeak), Sporophila caerulescens (Double-collared Seedeater), and Sporophila albogularis (White-throated Seedeater). Nine hundred twenty six specimens exhibited some threat. Analysis showed that the greatest flow of bird traffic occurs on BR 242 and BR 116. The municipalities that comprise the mesoregions Center-South, Center-North Baiano, and the Metropolitan Region of Salvador are those with greater concentrations of illegal activity. Irecê and Paulo Afonso constitute areas for the capture and commercialization of wild animals.

A Review of Zoonotic Babesiosis as an Emerging Public Health Threat in Asia

Zoonotic babesiosis poses a serious health risk in many parts of the world. Its emergence in Asia is thus a cause for significant concern, demanding that appropriate control measures are implemented to suppress its spread in this region. This study focuses on zoonotic Babesia species reported in Asia, offering an extensive review of those species reported in animals and humans. We reported 11 studies finding zoonotic Babesia species in animals and 16 in humans. In China, the most prevalent species was found to be Babesia microti, reported in both humans (n = 10) and wild and domesticated animals (n = 4). In Korea, only two studies reported human babesiosis, with a further two studies reporting Babesia microti in wild animals. Babesia microti was also reported in wild animal populations in Thailand and Japan, with evidence of human case reports also found in Singapore, Mongolia and India. This is the first review to report zoonotic babesiosis in humans and animals in Asia, highlighting concerns for future public health in this region. Further investigations of zoonotic species of Babesia in animal populations are required to confirm the actual zoonotic threat of babesiosis in Asia, as well as its possible transmission routes.

Influence of environmental enrichment on the rehabilitation of white-eyed parakeet (Psittacara leucophthalmus)

The use of sensory, physical, cognitive, and alimentary stimuli are varieties of environmental enrichment used to minimize stress caused by the monotonous captive environment. The objective of this study was to verify the impact of environmental enrichment in escape-related behavioral stereotypies. Thirty birds of the species Psittacara leucophthalmus were observed from March to September 2016, received at the Wild Animal Recovery and Screening Center of the São Paulo State University (UNESP), School of the Veterinary Medicine campus Araçatuba. The methodology used for the behavioral observations was the focal animal with observation through filming were made by 18 hours per bird for three consecutive days, while physical, cognitive, food, and sensory enrichment methods were applied, and the assessment was carried out before, during, and after the application of environmental enrichment. The data were analyzed by the Shapiro-Wilk test for normality and by the Friedman test, which showed no significant difference (p >0.05) before, during, and after environmental enrichment. Despite the statistical analyses, the perception of the bird’s welfare improving was visually clear.

INTERPRETATION OF INJURIES AND ASSESSMENT OF CAUSES OF DEATH IN WILD MAMMALS RECEIVED AT CETAS / IBAMA IN RIO BRANCO, ACRE, BRAZIL:

The necropsy of wild animals is necessary to raise the awareness of the competent public organizations and the population about the risks of zoonosis. Given the scarcity of information the aim of this article was to survey of the main injuries and causes of deaths of wild mammals kept in captivity was made, through the post mortem diagnosis and who passed through Wild Animal Screening Center (Centro de Triagem de Animais Silvestres - CETAS) of Rio Branco - Acre, Brazil, from September 2012 to September 2015. After death, the animals were kept refrigerated or frozen until the time of necropsy, using the standard technique for small mammals. Fragments of organs and tissues were collected, and the material was processed for histopathology using formalin fixation (10%), paraffin impregnation, hematoxylin and eosin staining, in 4 µm thick sections. 42 animals were submitted to necropsy, 27 males (64.3%) and 15 females (35.7%), of which 21 were adults (50%), 15 were puppies (35.7%) and six were young (14.3%). The main cause of death was hypovolemic shock (11.6%), followed by starvation (9.3%). There were also many deaths from undetermined causes (11.6%). A greater occurrence of deaths was registered in the Guariba monkey (Alouatta senicullus). The identification of necropsy findings and the interpretation of macroscopic lesions showed that cardiovascular lesion was the most common deaths. There does not seem to be an influence between the dry and rainy periods on the number of deaths of these animals.

From Deer-to-Deer: SARS-CoV-2 is efficiently transmitted and presents broad tissue tropism and replication sites in white-tailed deer

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) in humans, has a broad host range, and is able to infect domestic and wild animal species. Notably, white-tailed deer (WTD, Odocoileus virginianus ) the most widely distributed cervid species in the Americas was shown to be highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 with reported natural infection rates approaching 40% in wild WTD populations in the U.S. Thus, understanding the infection and transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in WTD is critical to prevent future zoonotic transmission to humans and for implementation of effective disease control measures. Here, we demonstrated that following intranasal inoculation with SARS-CoV-2, deer fawns shed infectious virus up to day 5 post-inoculation (pi), with high viral loads shed in nasal and oral secretions. This resulted in efficient deer-to-deer transmission on day 3 pi. Consistent with lack of infectious SARS-CoV-2 shedding after day 5 pi, no transmission was observed to contact animals added on days 6 and 9 pi. We have also investigated the tropism and sites of SARS-CoV-2 replication in WTD. Active virus replication was observed in respiratory-, lymphoid-, and central nervous system tissues, indicating broad tissue tropism and multiple target sites of virus replication during acute infection. The study provides important insights on the infection and transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in WTD, a wild animal species that is highly susceptible to infection and with the potential to become a reservoir for the virus in the field.

Molecular Detection of Human Pathogenic Gastric Helicobacter Species in Wild Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and Wild Quails (Coturnix coturnix)

Wildlife plays a major role in the maintenance and transmission of multihost pathogens. Several Helicobacter spp. have been described to have zoonotic potential; thus, human, domestic and wild animal interactions deserve more attention. In this study, the presence of the DNA of human pathogenic gastric Helicobacter species was determined in gastric samples collected from wild rabbits and wild quails during the national hunting campaigns in Portugal. Eleven out of the 12 wild rabbits (91.7%) and all six wild quails tested (100%) were PCR positive for one or more gastric Helicobacter species. In both animal species, H. felis, H. bizzozeronii and H. salomonis DNA were detected. In addition to these non-Helicobacter pylori Helicobacter spp. (NHPH), H. pylori DNA was also identified in gizzard samples of wild quails. These findings might indicate that wild rabbits and wild quails may act as reservoirs and contribute to the H. pylori and NHPH environment dissemination, causing both Public Health and One health concerns to arise.

National Security Challenges and the Quest for True Federalism in Nigeria: the Issue of Amotekun (South-West Regional Security Network)

Among the various challenges that the Nigerian State has had to contend with since its inception, incessant security challenges stand out. Indeed, these challenges have continued to defy the various strategies put in place to check them by various federal security agencies in the country, including the Military, Police, Road Safety, Civil Defense, Immigration, and Custom, thereby rendering them ineffective and inefficient, and as such contributing to louder calls for restructuring of the country. State Governors in the South-West in response to the security challenges facing the region formed the Western Nigerian Security Network (WNSN) code-named Operation Amotekun, the Yoruba name for Leopard, a wild animal known for its great agility and hunting prowess. This paper seeks to examine, 1. The current federal structure vis-à-vis the various security challenges in the country, 2. The formation of the Western Nigerian Security Network (Amotekun), i.e., its prospects, likely challenges and mode of operation, and 3. Propose some policy options to aid the performance and efficiency of Amotekun and any other that may follow.

Animals as and on Resource Frontiers

This paper attempts to locate changing interspecies relations in the dynamism and violence of capitalist expansion on a world scale, setting out two primary ways that the rising exploitation of non-human animals contributed to the development of settler-colonial economies, destabilization of indigenous societies, and transformation of ecosystems. One path was set by burgeoning demand essentially turning some wild animal species into increasingly valuable commodities and driving the rising scale and systematization of extraction and trade, which tended to quickly undermine conditions of abundance and make these animal frontiers very mobile. The second way started from the introduction of domesticated animals, with the muscle power and bodily commodities derived from proliferating populations valued not only in the expansion of agricultural landscapes but also in the formation and functioning of other resource frontiers, and ultimately bound up in waves of enclosures and expulsions. This framework seeks to simultaneously pose challenges for historical analysis and provide insights that help to understand the trajectory of animal life today.