The vulture is interwoven through India's
mythology. According to Hindu legend, a vulture
died while trying to rescue the beautiful Sita,
wife of Hindu god-king Ram. Parsees in northern
India say that vultures are sent from the skies
to clean the earth. Besides their role in
religious and cultural iconography, vultures are
an integral part of India's ecosystem. But
scientists say three Indian species of vulture
may be wiped out within five years, thanks to a
pain-killer commonly given to cattle. Yesterday,
Britain's Public Library of Science and Royal
Society for the Protection of Birds released a
report that suggests a solution. Dr. Mark Avery
is the Director of Conservation for the Royal
Society for the Protection of Birds. We reached
him in Delhi.
In serious danger
of extinction - white-rumped vultures
Urgent plea to save Asia's vultures from
extinction
Three species of vulture in Asia are
threatened with imminent extinction unless
swift action is taken to protect them, says a
group of some of the world's leading
conservation organisations, including the RSPB,
Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS - the
BirdLife Partner in India), BirdLife
International and the Zoological Society of
London (ZSL).
Research published in the latest edition of Nature,
by the US-based organisation The Peregrine
Fund and the Ornithological Society of
Pakistan (BirdLife in Pakistan), shows that
diclofenac, a drug used in the treatment of
livestock, is a major cause of the observed
vulture declines in Asia.
Dr Debbie Pain, a research scientist at RSPB,
said: 'In the 1980s, the white-rumped vulture
was thought to be the most abundant large bird
of prey in the world, but in little over a
decade, the population has crashed by more
than 99%, with the loss of tens of millions of
birds.'
'The decline of Asian vultures is one of the
steepest declines experienced by any bird
species, and is certainly faster than that
suffered by the dodo before its extinction. If
nothing is done these vulture species will
become extinct.'
Extinction could be swift
This research shows that feeding on
the carcasses of animals recently treated with
diclofenac kills vultures. Dr Rhys Green of
the RSPB said: 'only a small proportion of
dead livestock need to contain lethal doses of
diclofenac to cause these alarming vulture
population declines.'
'...these species are now more vulnerable to
global extinction than the tiger and the great
Indian rhinoceros'
Dr Vibhu Prakash of BNHS said: 'We first
noticed the declines in India at Keoladeo
National Park World Heritage Site in the
mid-1990s, and have been spearheading vulture
research and conservation efforts ever since.'
Dr Andrew Cunningham, of ZSL's Institute of
Zoology, said: 'Vultures are keystone species
and their declines are having adverse effects
upon other wildlife, domestic animals and
people. The vultures' population crash has led
to an increase in the number of feral dogs
which poses a range of disease threats.'
In 2000, the white-rumped vulture (Gyps
bengalensis), and the closely related
slender-billed and Indian vultures (Gyps
tenuirostris and Gyps indicus),
were classified as Critically Endangered. This
status recognises that these species are now
more vulnerable to global extinction than the
tiger and the great Indian rhinoceros, which
are both classified as Endangered.
Currently, the use of diclofenac to treat
livestock appears to be largely restricted to
countries in southern Asia, including India,
Pakistan and Nepal. However, there are
concerns that, were this drug to be used in a
similar way in Africa, the Middle East or
Europe, it might affect closely related
species in these regions too.
Call for a ban
To protect vultures across the world, the RSPB,
BNHS, ZSL OSP, Bird Conservation Nepal (BirdLife
in Nepal), BirdLife International, and The
Peregrine Fund are all calling on the
governments of countries with vulture
populations, and the manufacturers of
diclofenac, to ban the use of this drug in
livestock.
It is believed the recovery of vulture
populations in southern Asia will not be
effective until their exposure to diclofenac
has been removed.
Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB's director of
conservation, said: 'The Asian vulture crisis
is one of the world's most important
conservation priorities. The RSPB is
committing significant resources to a
programme to ensure that these birds have a
future.'
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