The veterinary drug diclofenac, which led to the collapse of vulture populations across Asia, is now a risk to 55,000 vultures in Europe.
Diclofenac is linked to the poisoning of vultures and other birds which feed on the corpses of cows treated with the drug.
The use of diclofenac in Asia almost led to the complete collapse of vulture populations during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Now, a loophole in Europe allows the drug to be legally used in Spain and Italy where nearly all Europe’s estimated 55,000 vultures now live.
The alert of the danger to the European vulture came after an investigation into the death of a Spanish vulture in 2012.
Vulture numbers in India fell from around 40 million to 60,000 in a few years. As a result India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh have either planned or placed heavy restrictions on the drug which was widely used in cattle.
The European vulture needs to be protected from this drug that has already killed millions of vultures. Please sign and share the petition to demand the European Union places an immediate ban on the drug diclofenac to save the European vulture from extinction.
