Pesticides and industrial pollutants have several negative health effects. Exposure to these chemicals, however, requires further exploration in farmed and wild animals. Animal farming is a huge industry and promoting the health of these animals is critical for the maintenance of animal welfare, human health, and agricultural security. Understanding the impact of man-made toxicants on wild animals is also important since many animal species are threatened or endangered. The causes of species endangerment are often a result of habitat loss, hunting, and black market trading. Man-made toxicants may also play a role, and the impact of these toxins on wild animal populations is critical when enacting policies to protect endangered species.
Worldwide agricultural expansion is concerning since it has led to >750% increase in pesticide use between 1955 and 2000 (Stehle and Schulz, 2015). Pesticide use is not the only toxicant that has been increasing. New scientific techniques can detect pharmaceutical residues in aquatic environments, and the presence of these pharmaceutical residues is expected to increase as the world’s population ages and more pharmaceuticals are prescribed. Incorrect disposal of pharmaceuticals via toilets and drains could be putting aquatic animals at risk of exposure and studies on the health consequences are required. Urban agriculture which includes the housing of domesticated animals, such as chickens, has increased. The impact of city related pollutants, including the effects of fires, on urban, farmed animals and their derived food still needs to be explored. This thematic series aims to obtain a better understanding on how man-made toxicants impact the health of animals and if there is a subsequent effect on humans.
Thematic Series
In this context, BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology and BMC Veterinary Research are collaborating to launch a special issue focused on how man-made toxicants such as insecticides, industrial pollutants, and pharmaceuticals impact the health of farmed and wild animals as well as whether the impact of these toxicants on animals can affect human health. We are welcoming research articles, case reports, debates and reviews, dealing with epidemiology, measures of toxins in animal tissue and fluids, diagnostic and treatment methods in animals, urban agriculture, reproduction, immunotoxicity, and teratology.
Submission deadline
The deadline for submission to the special issue is 1 December 2018.
To submit your manuscript, please use our online submission system:
BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology submission system
BMC Veterinary Research submission system
Please indicate in your covering letter that you would like the article to be considered for the 'Impact of man-made toxicants on farmed and wild animals' special issue. If you would like to inquire about the suitability of a study for consideration, please email a presubmission inquiry to bmcpharmacoltoxicol@biomedcentral.com or bmcvetres@biomedcentral.com.
Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to hearing from you.
Ben Ragen (Editor of BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology)
Hayley Henderson (Editor of BMC Veterinary Research)
Birgit Puschner (Guest Editor, University of California-Davis)
