Vultures are rarely viewed as the poster boys and girls of the natural world. They have repulsive eating habits and are strikingly ugly. Nevertheless, they play a critical role in maintaining the ecological health of many parts of the world. Vultures consume animal carcasses more effectively than any other scavengers and because their digestive juices […]
Tag: diclofenac
POLL: Should veterinary drugs containing diclofenac be banned?
According to a new study, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology on Monday and analysing the potential effects of the use of veterinary diclofenac in Spain, the approval in that country of the use of these two new veterinary drugs containing diclofenac – Diclovet and Dolofenac – could jeopardise the viability of Europe’s most […]
Veterinary diclofenac now completely banned in Iran
Iran’s Department of Environment has officially banned the export, import, production and veterinary use of the drug diclofenac in the country. Diclofenac is a non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug whose veterinary use as a painkiller for livestock has been the main cause of the decline of several species of vultures around the world. Vultures are scavengers, often […]
POLL: Should Diclofenac “the vulture killing drug” be banned?
Would you care if vultures were dying because of a man-made drug? Meet a man in Spain who really cares about vultures—so much so that he travels great distances and climbs rocks to feed them. The majority of Europe’s vultures live in Spain, and these vultures are in danger of being decimated, following the country’s […]
Let’s Stop Vulture Poisoning Now – Video
BirdLife is fighting to stop vultures from slipping towards extinction. Thanks to everyone that has supported our campaign so far, we are now 79% of the way towards our urgent target of £20,000. Nearly there! But like the vultures in Africa and Europe, we need some more help. So we are launching a video, and asking for your […]
Europe approves vet drug that killed off almost all of Asia’s vultures
When Europeans first arrived in North America, they exterminated three to five billion passenger pigeons (Ectopistes migratorius) in the short span of a century through a combination of habitat destruction and hunting. In 1914, the last living passenger pigeon perished at the Cincinnati Zoo. Despite the staggering scale of this extinction event, three species of […]
Vulture killing drug now available on EU market
Diclofenac is a powerful anti-inflammatory drug that has wiped out vulture populations in India, Pakistan and Nepal. Now, a repeat of this ecological disaster is threatening Europe. Despite the fact that safe alternative drugs are readily available, Diclofenac has been authorised for use on domestic animals in Italy, and in Spain where 80% of European […]