Pakistan vultures have turned the corner after Diclofenac ban

Peregrine Fund study shows that the ban on toxic veterinary drug diclofenac is effective in addressing Asian vulture crisis

October 2012. The number of critically endangered Long-billed Vultures in Pakistan is beginning to recover, thanks to a ban on the use of diclofenac, a veterinary drug that is toxic to vultures, according to a new study by The Peregrine Fund.

99% drop in numbers
Before the 2006 ban, vulture populations in Pakistan, India, and Nepal had dropped by up to 99%. Diclofenac, then a new drug in the veterinary market, was widely used to treat ailing cattle and other livestock, but vultures began dying by the thousands. The birds suffered renal failure after ingesting diclofenac-treated carcasses that had been left in the fields for scavengers.

52% increase after the ban
By 2008, two years after the ban, breeding populations of the Long-billed Vulture at the study sites in Pakistan had increased by up to 52%, the study shows.

"Our results demonstrate for the first time since the onset of the Asian vulture crisis that the ban on veterinary diclofenac is an effective management tool for reversing Long-billed Vulture population declines in the study area," the authors said.

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