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

Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology
Filip PankowskiBartłomiej J Bartyzel

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.

References

Feb 22, 2011·Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology·I CastroA Carballeira
Jul 31, 2014·Environmental Monitoring and Assessment·Manuela CarneiroSantiago Lavín
Jan 12, 2016·Journal of Veterinary Medical Education·Jill R D MacKayNatalie Waran
Sep 13, 2016·Forensic Science International : Synergy·Fernanda Auciello SalvagniPaulo Cesar Maiorka
Jun 16, 2017·Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology·Garyfalia AmpanoziThomas D Ruder
Nov 3, 2017·Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials·G J Appleby-ThomasP J Hazell

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