The UF Veterinary Forensic Sciences Laboratory advocates for all animals (companion animals, livestock, and wildlife). We want to learn more about injuries to wildlife that appear to be non-natural. Examples of non-natural injuries include entanglements, penetrating wounds (such as an arrow), snare trap injuries, injuries-by-car, etc. We do not respond to injured animal calls. However, we are documenting reported incidents to create a database of wildlife injuries and potentially identify hotspots where issues are occurring.
We are also interested in large-scale injuries and death of wildlife. For example, recently, several dozen brown pelicans in Brevard County, Florida and the southern coast of North Carolina were found dead. Read the story here.
If you find injured wildlife and suspect the incident occurred in a non-natural manner, please report your observations using our online reporting form (link below) so that we can better track these events. The VFSL works with wildlife biologists, veterinarians, law enforcement, and other professional to evaluate this data.
While we may not contact you in response to your submission, be assured that we appreciate the time you spent providing this information.