After turkey vultures were found poisoned by euthanasia in recent months throughout Marin County, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is urging residents to properly dispose of euthanized animals. The vultures were found comatose, mostly in central Marin but as far west as Fairfax, and lab results indicated poisoning by pentobarbital, a drug used frequently by veterinarians to euthanize livestock, horses and house pets. As scavengers, turkey vultures act as “nature’s garbage men” by removing dead, decaying animals from the ecosystem that other predators will not touch. “They only eat deceased animals,” said Melanie Piazza, the director of animal care for WildCare, who sent the poisoned vultures’ stomach contents for analysis at the University of California, Davis. She added, “There is actually a lot of wildlife that dies in West Marin, so vultures are very helpful for cleaning up.” Sam Dolcini, the president of the Marin County Farm Bureau, said his group is working with local veterinarians and “hoping they will begin coaching their clients for how to properly dispose of these animals so this situation does not happen again.” Pinpointing where exactly the vultures were poisoned is virtually impossible, since vultures can cover a wide range of territory in a single day, said Stella McMillin, a senior environmental scientist for Fish and Wildlife. She added that the birds presented the first cases of pentobarbital poisoning she has seen in 20 years of working for the department. Ms. Piazza treated the six poisoned vultures at WildCare’s San Rafael clinic; all were rehabilitated and returned to the wild. But she emphasized that there could have been other vultures elsewhere in the county poisoned by the same carcass. Anyone who discovers a comatose turkey vulture has been advised to call WildCare’s 24-hour hotline at (415) 456.7283.