The future looks brighter for India’s vultures after the Indian Government banned two more veterinary drugs that are lethal to these birds. Since the early 1990s, populations of several Indian vulture species plummeted by over 97%, largely as a result of widespread use in livestock of the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, which kills vultures that feed on the carcasses of treated cattle.
Veterinary diclofenac was banned in India in 2006 but has been replaced by other lethal painkillers including aceclofenac and ketoprofen, despite safe alternatives being available. Now, after years of safety testing, research and campaigning by the SAVE (Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction) coalition, in which the RSPB and the Bombay Natural History Society are leading partners, the government ban on these drugs marks a major step forward in vulture conservation.
