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Case Reports
. 2018 Dec;14(4):526-530.
doi: 10.1007/s12024-018-0017-4. Epub 2018 Aug 31.

Fatal gunshot injuries in the common buzzard Buteo buteo L. 1758 - imaging and ballistic findings

Filip Pankowski  1 , Grzegorz Bogiel  2 , Sławomir Paśko  3 , Filip Rzepiński  1 , Joanna Misiewicz  1 , Alfred Staszak  4 , Joanna Bonecka  5 , Małgorzata Dzierzęcka  1 , Bartłomiej J Bartyzel  6
Affiliations
Case Reports

Fatal gunshot injuries in the common buzzard Buteo buteo L. 1758 - imaging and ballistic findings

Filip Pankowski et al. Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2018 Dec.

Abstract

The conservation of the common buzzard is assured by the European Union law. In Poland, this wild bird is under strict species protection and it is used as a bioindicator for heavy metals in the environment. A case of the fatal shooting of a buzzard with a firearm by an unidentified shooter is described here. Macroscopic evaluation, X-ray imaging, post-mortem computed tomography, ballistic examination of the isolated bullets and finally a simulation of the assumed position of the bird at the time of the shot were performed. Numerous pellets were found inside the body, together with multiple bone fractures and central nervous system trauma. The buzzard died most probably as a result of spinal cord injury from a single shot that was fired from a smoothbore hunting gun. Collected evidence was insufficient to identify the shooter, which sadly confirms that identification of the perpetrator in wildlife forensics remains low.

Keywords: Ballistics; Bullet; Firearm; PMCT; Raptors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A round metallic element (M1) was seen after removing the feathers on the thorax. It was later isolated from the body for ballistic examination
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Dorsoventral X-ray image. Metallic foreign bodies in various body parts and multiple bone fractures are visible. Elements M1 – M4 were later isolated from the body for ballistic examination
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
CT reconstruction of a buzzard with metallic foreign bodies colored in red. Elements M1 – M4 were later isolated from the body for ballistic examination
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Transverse (a), dorsal (b) and sagittal (c) PMCT images of the thorax (a), left metatarsophalangeal joint (b) and left tarsus (c). Note the foreign bodies M1 – M4 and a fracture of the distal 1/3 of the left tibia (c)
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Photograph of elements M1 – M4 (from left to right) isolated from the buzzard
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Three-dimensional visualization of the assumed bird position at the time of the gunshot
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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