Vulture numbers in India are stable, says study

MUMBAI: After years of relentless efforts to save the vultures in South Asia, there is encouraging news. According to a new research paper published in the science journal – PLoS ONE – there are first signs of recovery for Asia’s critically endangered vultures. Recent surveys show that vulture numbers have stabilized across India and Nepal. BNHS, UK-based Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB), the Central and State Governments in India and several other organizations under the consortium Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction (SAVE) have been working for years to conserve the three critically endangered vulture species.

The latest surveys show that in India and Nepal the numbers of the three critically endangered vulture species have remained stable in the last couple of years. Prior to the ban on veterinary diclofenac the vulture population was decreasing at a rate of up to 40% a year.

Commenting on the positive development, Dr Vibhu Prakash, the lead author of the study and Deputy Director, BNHS said, “The stabilization of vulture numbers across India for all the three critically endangered species is the first sign that the government’s ban on veterinary diclofenac is having its desired impact. Continued efforts are still required to protect the remaining small populations, including stopping the illegal use of human diclofenac in the veterinary sector."