Cattle painkiller lethal for vultures

A POPULAR painkiller used to treat cattle is killing vultures – many of them critically endangered species.

Researchers from the University of Pretoria‚ the UK, together with conservation partners including Vulpro conducted safety trials on the anti-inflammatory drug‚ carprofen‚ which is highly effective in controlling pain in cattle and horses.

Kerri Wolter‚ of vulture conservation organisation Vulpro‚ said the researchers were running safety trials‚ not toxicity trials when they discovered the harmful effects of the drugs.

“We were looking for drugs that we thought were potentially safe for vultures.”

Many farmers use a wide variety of drugs to treat animals, and the carcasses of those that die are often left out for vultures.

“The chance that vultures are exposed to these toxic drugs is higher than ever‚” said Wolter.

The drug diclofenac brought three species of vulture to the brink of extinction in Asia‚ and has been banned in India since 2006.

While carprofen has been found to be safer than diclofenac, it comes from the same family, as do many of the drugs used on domesticated animals. The toxicity of most is unknown.

Vultures typically groups, she said.

“This means that potentially you could find up to 50 birds at a time exposed to the poison. A couple of ate in large contaminated carcasses could halve the population of vultures.

“There is a very real chance of them going extinct in our lifetime.”

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature‚ of the 22 species of vulture worldwide‚ 75% are under threat.

Wolter said there were a growing number of “vulture restaurants” – fixed sites where carcasses were brought for vultures to feed off – which Vulpro had encouraged. — DDC