Echium vulgare and Senecio vulgaris poisoning in fighting bulls

An unusual case of poisoning by simultaneous ingestion of Echium vulgare L. and Senecio vulgaris L. in a herd of Spanish fighting bulls is described. Ten animals died from a herd of 700 in an area located in Sierra Norte, Seville (Constantina) in Spain. The interest of this case lies both in the breed affected (this is the first report on fighting bulls) and the lack of information about bovine poisoning by these plants in Spain. Animal samples were obtained from October to March. All the dead animals were 1 year old and had grazed at the farm. The diagnosis was made by determining the plant species and studying its distribution in the pastureland, and also by performing blood analysis of the sick animals in addition to an anatomopathological study of the carcasses. Tuberculosis, brucellosis, salmonellosis, IBR/BVD and also the presence of aflatoxins in the forage were all ruled out.