The Veterinary Section has been working for 20 years, on the validation of analytical methods, towards the resolution of suspicion of poisoning and intoxication in all kind of animals, adapting to demand in all the fields of knowledge of the veterinary medicine.

The frequency of intoxications in animals is far higher than reported in scientific reviews. This is mainly due to several factors, such as the difficulty to establish a definitive diagnosis without the adequate toxicological analyses, or the high economical cost of some of these analyses. In fact, cases of intoxication in animals have been estimated in several thousands per year.

Animals can be exposed to a great number of toxicants that can pose a health risk: veterinary and human drugs, herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides, household and personal products, cosmetics, fertilizers, etc.

Veterinarians for small and exotic animals, livestock, zoological parks and natural reserves are often unable to establish a definitive diagnosis due to the lack of specialized means and personnel. It is in this field where we are offering a service, in order to respond to the necessities of the veterinaries. Although it is not always possible to demonstrate the existence of a toxic etiology, our service is able to help in the diagnosis of poisoning, and therefore, in the prescription of a medical treatment, ruling out all those processes that were firstly  considered in the presumptive differential diagnosis.

On the other hand, intoxications are intentionally caused (poisoning of wildlife, dogs and cats) in many cases. According to the current Spanish Penal Code, this can be considered a crime. In this sense, apart from the clinical-analytical support, our service offers an expertise service, which is guaranteed by our continuous work in judicial causes since the Spanish Penal Code reform in 1995.