Pesticide residues in birds and mammals

© 2012 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Pesticides have been used extensively since the end of World War II and are, at present, integral to modern agriculture, forestry, animal production, and public health across the world. Roughly, some 3000 million kg of pesticides are applied worldwide per year, 500 million kg corresponding to the United States. In spite of the unquestionable benefits, many of these pest-control chemicals have also the potential or measurable adverse effects on nontarget vertebrate domestic animals and wildlife (Kendall and Smith 2003; Poppenga 2007; Rattner 2009; Poppenga and Oehme 2010). By design, manufacture, and use, pesticides are biologically active and, in most cases, toxic substances. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the fate of pesticide residues in the environment has become a critical issue in both developed and developing countries.