Wildlife poisoning, a pervasive and insidious threat, casts a dark shadow over ecosystems worldwide, exacting a toll on biodiversity, human health, and ecosystem integrity.

Defined as the deliberate or inadvertent use of toxic substances to kill or harm wildlife, this practice poses a significant challenge to conservation efforts and environmental sustainability. Although the impact of wildlife poisoning is vastly under recorded, its repercussions often extend far beyond the intended targets, affecting non-target species, ecological processes, and human communities.

The Birds of Prey Programme, for many years, has strived to reduce the toll this is having on not only birds of prey, but all species that are affected by this pervasive, yet under managed threat. One of the key shortfalls identified has been the inadequate response to these incidents by conservation staff, not only for reducing further exposure to wildlife but also relating to the veterinary treatment and management of live animals that may be found in these incidents. Considering that wildlife poisoning almost always presents as mass casualty scenarios, it is critical that the correct structures are already in place, all veterinarians understand the species-specific treatment regimen, and that this is followed by a timeline plan for patient recovery, assessment, and release.

With all this in mind, Dr Gareth Tate and John Davies from the EWT’s Birds of Prey Programme, and Dr Jessica Briner from Briner Veterinary Services, teamed up with Dr Glyn Maude from Raptors Botswana, and Kyle Burger from Connect Trust, to host the first veterinary treatment workshop in Botswana.

The course was held over two days in the southern part of the world-renowned Okavango Delta and was attended by seven veterinarians, mostly from the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks. The course focussed on three main areas: firstly, presenting a background to the current situation with wildlife poisoning; secondly, how to treat and manage patients in a practical and effective way; and thirdly, scene management to reduce any further exposure and ensure that these events are handled and managed in a controlled manner.

Overall, the course was very successful, and in particular, we would like to thank Kyle Burger from Connect Trust for all his work to get these veterinarians together and make this a success.
Although this was a first step in the process, there is little doubt that there is much more work to be done. Fortunately, with the support of our collaborators, there is little doubt that improving the current outcome around mass wildlife poisoning events is in reach. Hopefully, we can look forward to seeing a sky filled with vultures in the near future. Our hope is that vultures will one day be seen as one of nature’s critical species by all people.