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Article History

Received: 5 November 2025

Accepted: 23 February 2026

First Online: 17 March 2026

Declarations

:

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: The study was designed and carried out in compliance with the ARRIVE guidelines (Kilkenny et al. 2010) and carried out on private land with permission of its owners, and all procedures were conducted in accordance with the Polish Animal Protection Act (21 August, 1997). For the molecular part of the study, Certified staff members of University of Warsaw and the Polish Academy of Sciences collected tissue for genetic testing to identify species and detect the possible presence of T. gondii. This work was conducted within the Faculty of Biology at the University of Warsaw, registered as number 0031 in the Polish Ministry of Science’s roster of institutions authorized for rodent studies. All animals were euthanized with an overdose of the inhalational anesthetic Forane (isoflurane; AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, IL, USA). Under the Act on the Protection of Animals Used for Scientific or Educational Purposes, enacted on January 15, 2015 (Article 2, point 6), euthanizing mice for organ or tissue use does not necessitate approval from an ethics committee. The observational part of the study was based on the surveillance of free-ranging animals that were free to enter or ignore experimental chambers with food and video cameras, This activity falls under the scope of the Act of 15 January 2015 (Article 1, paragraph 2, point 5) on the Protection of Animals Used for Scientific or Educational Purposes, which serves as the primary legal framework for animal research in Poland. According to this Act—available upon request—its provisions do not apply to procedures that, in line with veterinary medical standards, do not inflict pain, suffering, distress, or lasting harm on animals beyond the level caused by a standard needle prick.