Presence of Nationally Banned Carbamates and Organophosphate Pesticides in Wild Carnivores, Southeastern Brazil

As top predators, terrestrial carnivores face great risk of pesticide exposure and serve as sentinels of environmental contamination. Additionally, terrestrial carnivores are frequently threatened by intentional or secondary poisoning with highly toxic compounds, such as carbamates and organophosphates. This study employed high-performance liquid chromatography attached to a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) to detect pesticides frequently used worldwide for wildlife poisoning and currently banned in Brazil: two carbamates (aldicarb, carbofuran) and one organophosphate (phorate) and their metabolites, in the liver and vitreous humor of 35 road-killed carnivores found in southeastern Brazil. Herein, we analyzed seven ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), seven crab-eating raccoons (Procyon cancrivorus), four crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous), four maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus), four jaguarundis (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), four pumas (Puma concolor), four lesser grisons (Galactis cuja), and one Southern tiger cat (Leopardus guttulus). Pesticides were detected in 34.3% (12/35) of the individuals, with aldicarb found in nine cases, carbofuran in two, and phorate in one. The high prevalence of these banned pesticides in the studied wild carnivores raises concerns regarding their use in the country and the consequent health risks posed to humans, wild, and domestic animals.