Spread awareness on vulture conservation and why it is important and work done by Mahseer Conservancy in Uttarakhand for this cause.

1. CORBETT VULTURE
CAMPAIGN
Vultures: the last hope.

2. India, mid 1980’s.
Around 85 million vultures

3. • 9 Species in India Lammergeier
• 8 found in Uttarakhand
Cinereous
Indian white-backed
Red-headed
Slender-billed
Egyptian
Himalayan griffon

5. • Gathered in huge numbers near abattoirs and
where dead livestock were left
• 15,000 reported in one spot near Delhi
• Most common species were griffon species
Slender-billed Vulture,
Gyps tenuirostris
Indian White-rumped Vulture, Long-billed Vulture,
Gyps bengalensis Gyps indicus

6. But today over nearly all of the
Indian sub-continent vultures have
vanished from the sky

7. • Over 97% decline for Slender-billed and Long-
billed vultures
• Over 99.9% decline for Indian White-backed
vultures
• Only a few thousand left of each species today

8. First noticed all over
India during 1990’s

9. • RSPB,
• BNHS,
• US Fish & Wildlife
Department,
• Peregrine Fund,
• Darwin Initiative,
• Poultry Diagnostic
Research Centre, Pune,
• Australian Animal
Health Laboratories
Cause discovered and announced
in 2003/4

10. DICLOFENAC

11. • Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug –
NSAID
• Introduced in 1970’s for humans
• Adapted for veterinary market in late 1980’s
• Used as a general painkiller for any ailment
• Widely used across the Indian Sub-
continent only

12. • Diclofenac residues remain in tissues for
up to 6 days after use, longer in organs
• Often sick livestock are injected but die
shortly after anyway

13. Lethal to Gyps vultures
Kills most within 2-3 days
Only 1 out of 760 carcasses containing Diclofenac
was enough to cause the current vulture population
collapse

14. • Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife
(Protection) Act in 2002
• Critically Endangered by the IUCN

15. 'Licenses to manufacture
veterinary Diclofenac
should be withdrawn and
the marketing of such
products phased out within
three months' on the 11th
May 2006.
‘Prohibiting the
manufacture, sale and
distribution of Diclofenac
and its formulations for
animal use with immediate
effect' on the 4th July
2008.

16. India has well over 300 million head of cattle and buffalo
Only about 4% are kept for human consumption

17. Vultures are highly adapted to scavenge carcasses
A group can clean a buffalo carcass down to the
bone in 30 minutes

18. Other scavengers are not able to effectively clean up a
carcass and spread diseases such as anthrax,
botulism and cholera.

19. Since the mass Vulture die-off began in 1992 strays
dogs have increased by 5.5 extra million
Responsible for an estimated 38.5 million bites

20. The vulture die-off has now cost the Indian government:
at least 10 billion $US
And claimed an estimated 47,000 lives
From a 2006 report by University of Bath, UK & Institute of Economic Growth, India

21. CORBETT VULTURE
CAMPAIGN

22. CO
RB
ET
TN
AT
ION
AL
PA
RK
Ramnagar & Terai West Forest Divisions

23. Ringora Village
• White-backed vultures were observed
roosting on 85% of all surveys
• There are four active nests in the area

24. 10th July 2009

25. Tumeria Village
• In Tumeria there is approximately
40 vultures roosting present daily
• There are many nests also

26. Van Gujjar villages keep many head of
buffalo, and this may explain the good
presence of vultures

27. Hatidagar
• Carcasses left every couple of weeks
• Often see large groups of vultures feeding there
• Both Indian white-backed and Slender-billed vultures
feeding.

28. Survey of the availability of
Diclofenac
• Undercover investigation
• Terai west forest division
• Ramnagar forest division

29. 8 out of 21 shops sold the undercover
researcher 30ml bottles of Diclofenac

30. Outcomes of the Study
• Good populations of Vultures found
• Very little awareness of the Diclofenac
ban or effect on vultures
• Human Diclofenac is presently being sold
and used for veterinary use
• Meloxicam is not widely available / used

31. CVC Initiatives
1. Awareness Campaign
2. Dialogue with Veterinary and
Pharmaceutical Community
3. Removal of Diclofenac from Market
through Governmental and Legal channels

32. 1. Awareness Campaign

33. RamLeela & Eid Festivals

34. Key Villages near Vulture colonies

35. In Areas Near Carcass Dumps

36. 2. Veterinary Community
Film Screening
Haldwani block office, 08/09/2009
• Dialogue with VO’s, LEO’s and Paravets instigated
• District level meeting planned Oct 2009
• Aim is to take feedback and establish a link to the
‘quacks’

37. Pharmaceutical Community
• Aim is raise awareness and apply pressure at
the retailer and wholesaler level

38. 3. Veterinary Drug Market
• Public Interest Litigation
• Submit to the High Court, Nainital

39. 30ml Bottles
CHEAP
• 30ml bottle retails for 20-30INR
• 100ml Meloxicam= 60INR
• 3ml bottle…12INR
PRACTICAL
• 30ml bottle is 3 x 10ml
shots for livestock
• 10 x 3ml for humans

40. Monitoring of Resident
Colonies
• Monitoring of population numbers and breeding and
recruitment success,
• Spot early warning signs of Diclofenac poisoning,
• Birds can then be evacuated to breeding centre in
Pinjore, Haryana.

41. Make a ‘Vulture Restaurant’
• Would decrease the chance that vulture colonies
find a carcass that contains Diclofenac, and
would help in population estimation.

42. These Vultures are
only a few years
away from total
extinction in the wild

43. And the cost
for everyone
is high

44. SO PLEASE HELP
Distribute our leaflets to;
 Livestock holders
 ‘Quack’ vets
 Local drugstores and pharmacies
Sign the petition to get rid of Diclofenac Sodium
CALL US IF YOU KNOW OF DICLOFENAC SALE
OR USE, or if you see any vultures or carcass
dumping grounds.
PHONE : 976 1166777, EMAIL : mahseerconservancy@gmail.com