Wild fauna received by the Wild Animal Screening Centre and referred to the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Brasília

Graphic abstract

Wild fauna received by the Wild Animal Screening Centre and referred to the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Brasília

Abstract

The aim of this work was to analyze records from two institutions that work with wild animals throughout 2018. Data were obtained from the animals received by the Wild Animal Screening Centre of Federal District (CETAS-DF), Brazil, referring to the type of admission and destination, species, as well as animals that required veterinary care and were referred to the Wild Animal Sector of the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Brasilia (HVet-UnB) with description of the main conditions and temporal analysis. Of the 7,603 animals that were admitted to CETAS-DF (6,646 birds, 461 mammals and 496 reptiles), 1,028 individuals (13.52%) required veterinary medical care and were referred to HVet-UnB. The class of animals that most needed assistance was birds (765), followed by mammals (225) and reptiles (37). Unlike other fauna diagnostic surveys from environmental agencies, this is the first study that correlates the numbers of animals received by a CETAS and that were referred for veterinary medical follow-up. The high number of wild animals that require referral to specialized institutions reinforces the need to establish agreements and structure for veterinary medical treatment and subsequent rehabilitation of these specimens as part of an action plan for the conservation of biodiversity in the country.

Keywords:
Diseases; Wild animals; Federal District; Rescue; Screening