NEPALESE DRUG FIRM HELPS VULTURES

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http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19125646.200-drug-firm-backs-vulture-recov\

ery-plan.html

Drug firm backs vulture recovery plan

 

- 16 August 2006

- From New Scientist Print Edition.

- Drug companies often get a bad rap, but one firm in Nepal has

voluntarily taken steps to halt the dramatic decline in the country's

vulture population.

 

Vulture numbers in the Indian subcontinent have crashed to a few thousand

from 40 million a decade ago. One major cause is the widespread use of the

drug diclofenac, which is given to livestock to relieve pain. In 2003,

diclofenac was found to be lethal to vultures, which scavenge meat from the

carcasses of treated animals.

 

Last week, Medivet, Nepal's largest manufacturer of veterinary diclofenac,

announced it will replace it with a safe alternative called meloxicam for

the same price. " We're keen to give them a huge pat on the back for that, "

says Chris Bowden, of The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. India

already plans to replace diclofenac with meloxicam, while Medivet's move has

prompted Nepal to push for the same switch.

From issue 2564 of New Scientist magazine, 16 August 2006, page 6