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The second veterinary drug diclofenac, a safe alternative to vultures, can help great bird scavengers in South Asia.

Since the discovery in 2003 that the drug was the main cause of the catastrophic collapse of the South Asian condor population, scientists have been trying to find a safe alternative to the condor's non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac. Birds ingested the drug when removing animal carcasses that had been treated with it, and it was used to treat pain and inflammation in livestock and humans.

Four types of South Asian vultures—white-rumped (or white-backed) vultures, thin-billed vultures, Indian vultures, and red-headed vultures—have fallen sharply in the 1990s and are now classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Between 1991 and 1992, it was estimated to reach 40 million. The number of Indian white-rumped vultures fell by 99.9% between 1992 and 2007. This is the record for the fastest decline in the number of any bird species in history.

After this discovery, diclofenac was banned for livestock use in India, Pakistan and Nepal in 2006, and it was banned in Bangladesh in 2010. However, the enforcement of the ban has always been a long-standing problem. In addition, other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that are still in legal use have been shown to be similarly lethal to vultures.

In 2006, meloxicam, the first safe alternative to diclofenac for condors, was identified.

The discovery that the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug tolfenamic acid is also safe for vultures is the result of a systematic safety testing study led by the Indian Institute of Veterinary Medicine, the Bombay Natural History Society and the Royal Bird Conservation Society. Details of the study It was published in a preprint paper in August.

"Save the Asian Vultures," a coalition of 24 organizations dedicated to the protection of vultures, stated in a report on its website that tolfenamic acid has been confirmed to be safe for vultures, which is "very important."

Chris Bowden, project manager to save Asian vultures from extinction and co-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Vulture Expert Group, explained to Third Pole: “Veterinarians often complain that they like to choose drugs in different situations. Each non-steroidal anti- The properties of inflammatory drugs are slightly different."

Hem Baral, a well-known ornithologist from Nepal, has been studying the Asian condor crisis for more than two decades. He said that the increase in safe medicine options for South Asian condors offers "great hope" for more effective protection of condors.

"Previously, meloxicam did a great job of saving vultures by replacing diclofenac and other harmful non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs," Ballall told Third Pole. However, he added that meloxicam has never been the drug of choice for veterinarians like diclofenac. "This may be a combination of supply chain, efficiency and results, plus awareness and price," he said.

Meloxicam accounted for only 32% of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs sold in pharmacies surveyed in India in 2017. "Veterinarians are familiar with diclofenac and love it, so any conversion is a challenge," Bowden said. "Some people say that meloxicam works more slowly-although it lasts longer and has fewer side effects. Tolfenamic acid does have better antipyretic (fever-reducing) properties than meloxicam, so it is more similar in this respect In diclofenac."

He added that the price of tolfenamic acid "should be competitive with meloxicam and diclofenac", especially in the case of increased production, and it can also be bottled-diclofenac is no longer the case- Further contribute to price comparison.

A key issue for veterinarians and farmers in the use of tolfenamic acid is awareness and marketing. "We rely on veterinarians and others (including the media) to help with this process," Bowden said. "This needs a big push. The veterinarian is planning a webinar, but more is needed."

Both Bowden and Baral believe that the weakness of the diclofenac ban is a major problem in condor protection. Diclofenac can still be used legally in humans. It continues to be used illegally for veterinary purposes, and it is also produced illegally.

Following reports that a company sold large bottles of diclofenac for cattle, but the label was changed to be for human use, the Indian government banned the sale of large bottles of diclofenac in 2015.

"The vial size limitation is a major loophole, but this has been resolved," Bowden said. "Human drugs are the same thing and are available (only in vials), but it is difficult to stop or control. To set an example requires strict law enforcement and severe punishment."

MK Ranjitsinh, a leading environmentalist in India, stated that the gap in implementing a ban on animal consumption of diclofenac is still being exploited. "Since diclofenac is legally used for human consumption, it is being abused. If there is a little blank in the rules, people will find it easy to use them," Ranjitsinh told The Third Pole.

Another problem is the legal use of other drugs that are toxic to vultures for veterinary purposes. Bowden said that the safety testing of the Indian Institute of Veterinary Medicine is too slow. "This is a serious problem... Aceclofenac [another non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug] is metabolized to diclofenac, but it can still be used legally. Despite more than five years of requirements, no ban has yet been issued. This It’s a serious loophole and it’s very disappointing."

Bowden said that other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that are deadly to vultures, including nimesulide and ketoprofen, "are our top priority because all drugs are used legally [for veterinary purposes]." Bangladesh banned the production, sale and use of ketoprofen earlier this year, but India has not yet done so.

Baral said the decline in the number of vultures has slowed in recent years, but the recovery process is slow and still full of threats.

"South Asian countries with populations of vultures can learn from each other to improve knowledge about vulture protection," Baral said, adding that capacity building, knowledge exchange and cross-border cooperation will be the key to success. "As we know, vultures have no political boundaries."

The complete loss of vultures could have huge environmental, cultural and public health impacts in South Asia. When the number of vultures drops, other scavengers (such as rats or dogs) can move in. The disappearance of bald eagles across India in the 1990s coincided with the increase in the number of wild dogs, which in turn was pointed out as the driving factor for rabies outbreaks. According to calculations, the increase in the number of dogs alone caused nearly 50,000 deaths between 1992 and 2006.

Culturally, the disappearance of vultures has had a huge impact. Without vultures to eat the corpse, many Parsi had to modify the traditional "celestial burial".

The Indian government's "Indian Condor Conservation Action Plan 2020-2025" formulated an ambitious conservation strategy aimed at establishing new captive breeding centers and condor "centers" in each state. But Bowden pointed out that stopping all veterinary use of diclofenac and other toxic drugs is critical to making the environment safe enough for the released condors to survive.

"India was the first country to announce the ban on diclofenac for veterinary use in 2006, and other countries followed suit," Bowden said. "This is very important and may prevent these species from being completely extinct." Bowden said that Nepal is by far the most successful country and has reversed the decline in the number of condors by effectively eradicating diclofenac. "The launch is going on there and going well. So far, all of this has been much more successful than India."

"We know what to do. But we are at risk of losing the condor because it didn't happen fast enough," Bowden said.

This article first appeared in the third pole.

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