[Veterinary care of birds of prey: Development from 1985 to 2015]

A retrospective study was conducted which analysed the patient histories of free-living birds of prey presented to the Clinic of Zoo Animals, Exotic Pets and Wildlife of the University of Zürich from 2009 to 2015. The data were compared with a previous study on the period from 1985 to 1994. The average number of cases presented per year increased from 55 to 109. Most cases are presented in the months of February, June and July. Surgical problems were most frequently diagnosed and occurred in 61.5% of the cases, with 66.5% of patients presenting with one or more fractures. Regarding medical cases (29.5%) the most frequent finding was unspecified weakness (47.8%). Ophthalmic pathologies were diagnosed in 9% of the patients. With respect to outcome 41.7% of the patients could be released, 47.3% and 11.0% had to be euthanized or died, respectively. In 6 of 9 of the most frequently presented species the rate of release increased significantly compared to the previous study.