John Mallord RSPB Flashcards
SAVE
Saving asia’s vultures
Vultures remove carcasses
and take away disease
Vulture declines 1885-1996 97% decline
Uric gout, due to kidney failure. Pesticides, disease, chemical contanimation
Non-steroidal anti-inflammitory drug used on cows
Diclofenac given to sick cows but they then die anyway
Presence of viceral gout and disclofenac in blood
perfect relationship/association
10-11% of carcasses had diclofenac trace
2006 vetenary bans in India
Identification of vulture-safe antibiotics
meloxicanon and tolfenamic acid are safe
Diclofenac and
5 othres have been found dangerous
India
local formulation of meloxicanon that had wrong PH caused ‘jumping goat’ so they didn’t use it
Diclofenac is still readily available
and poisoning is another threat caused by poachers
Breeding centers are useful
but is better to ensure habitat is safe
released birds
don’t mate and don’t migrate
advocacy and education
are most effective
Vulture conservation measures in Cambodia differ from those employed in the Indian subcontinent because the threats are different, especially in the absence of a significant threat from diclofenac. Conservation actions taken so far include monthly supplementary feeding at up to seven sites in the north and east of the country, nest protection and advocacy against inappropriate use of agricultural chemicals as poisons.
Soon after research had indicated the severity of the effects of diclofenac on vulture populations, the governments of India, Pakistan and Nepal commenced actions to prevent the contamination of vulture food supplies with the drug. India’s National Board for Wildlife recommended a ban on veterinary use on 17 March 2005. In May 2006, a directive from the Drug Controller General of India was circulated to relevant officials, requiring the withdrawal of manufacturing licences for veterinary formulations of diclofenac. This directive was further strengthened in 2008, when it was made an imprisonable offence to manufacture, retail or use diclofenac for veterinary purposes. Similar measures were introduced in Pakistan and Nepal at about the same time. Veterinary use of diclofenac was banned in Bangladesh in 2010.
Poisoning causing the decline in South-East Asia’s largest vulture population
Loveridge et al., 2019
Cambodia supports populations of three Critically Endangered vulture species that are believed to have become isolated from the rest of the species’ global range. Until recently Cambodia’s vulture populations had remained stable. However a recent spike in the number of reports of the use of poisons in hunting practices suggests the need to re-evaluate the conservation situation in Cambodia. Population trend analysis showed that since 2010 populations of the White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis and Red-headed Vulture Sarcogyps calvus have declined, while the Slender-billed Vulture Gyps tenuirostris may also have started to decline since 2013. These trends are supported by evidence of reduced nesting success. A survey of veterinary drug availability revealed that diclofenac, the non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug responsible for vulture declines in South Asia was not available for sale in any of the 74 pharmacies surveyed. However, a poisoned Slender-billed Vulture tested positive for carbofuran in toxicology tests. This provides the first evidence of a vulture mortality resulting from carbofuran in Cambodia. The findings suggest the urgent need to tackle use of carbamate pesticides in hunting. Proposed conservation actions are: a) prevention of poisoning through national bans on harmful carbamate pesticides and diclofenac and education campaigns to reduce demand and use; b) training of personnel in priority protected areas in detection and response to poisoning incidents; c) maintenance of a safe and reliable food source through vulture restaurants to ensure short-term survival, and d) protection and restoration of large areas of deciduous dipterocarp forests to enable long-term species recovery.