The Animal Treatment Centre for Poisoning Cases (CAPAT) opened in January 1992. Its main mission is to inform people about toxicology issues through a free hotline : 05.61.19.39.40 during business hours on working days.
Over a thousand calls are answered yearly : advice following poisoning (40%), enquiry without any poisoning (32%), emergency calls (28%).

Veterinary general practitioners are the main users of CAPAT with around 60% of total calls. Animal owners come second with 20% of calls, followed by human treatment centres for poisoning cases, other CAPATs, Public Health Veterinarians, Pharmacists, Doctors in human medicine, agricultural Organisation.

Domestic carnivores represent more than 60% of cases, followed by cattle and horses (around 10%) and a large number of other species (poultry, exotic animals, snails}.
Most of the toxic agents implicated are pesticides (50%), drugs (25%), pollutants (12%) and plants (8%).
When compared to other CAPATs, figures show that a large number of calls concern mycotoxins (5%). This may be explained by the fact that Toulouse CAPAT plays an active role in the surveillance of mycotoxic accidents on farms, in collaboration with the Mycotoxicology group of the National Veterinary College of Toulouse.

These services are free and can be supplemented with diagnostic activities which are charged for in the case of food poisoning. Analyses to determine the exact nature of the products implicated in food poisoning (analyses on vomit or at necropsy) or in poisoning attempts (analyses on suspect baits) are performed in the toxicology laboratory. The main active substances investigated are convulsive poisons (strychnine, crimidine, metaldehyde), anti-cholinesterasic pesticides, anticoagulants, chloralose. Analyses to determine the nature of fungal contamination of feeds as well as tests to detect mycotoxins can also be performed.
These diagnostic activities are conducted in collaboration with veterinarians in case of animal food poisoning and people working in the food industry when they concern fungal/mycotoxic food quality control. No analysis is performed directly on an owner's request but may be undertaken on exceptional occasions.