Other States - Haryana   

Banned drug pushes vulture population towards extinction

CHANDIGARH: “Ninety-nine per cent of India’s vulture population has perished in the last 15 years owing to the anti-inflammatory drug Diclofenac Sodium, the manufacture of which was banned in 2006,” says Dr. Vibhu Prakash, Principal Project Director of the Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centre (VCBC) at Joghpur, 25 km from here.

Vultures find a place in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the country’s only legal framework to protect endangered species, which prohibits hunting and trafficking of endangered species. But the drastic fall in the population of the bird is neither due to hunting nor lack of food; the bird has been falling prey to the Diclofenac Sodium affected carcasses. Carcasses of cattle treated with the drug when consumed by vultures lead to their death.

Chief Wildlife Warden of Haryana Dr. R.D. Jakati says, “ In January 2004 it was finally established (by research) that Diclofenac Sodium, an anti-inflammatory drug used for cattle, killed vultures.” “Although the drug was banned in 2006, the problem is not solved, because the ban is on its manufacture, its sale is still legal and it is still used as a drug for human use.” adds Dr. Jakati.

VCBC that was set up in 2001 as a Vulture Care Centre is jointly managed by the Royal Society for Protection of Birds (England), The Bombay Natural History Society and the Haryana Government. It houses 123 vultures of different species including the White-Backed, Long-Billed, Slender-Billed and Himalayan GriffonAfter vaccinating each bird separately against any type of disease, the vultures are released at the Quarantine Bird Aviary in the forest area in Nandpur village before being shifted to VCBC.

“Confinement is not the best option but we need to breed these birds or else they would soon be extinct. when they are released, they can easily survive,” said Dr. Prakash. “Our aim (is) to breed 25 pairs of each species and release at least 100 pairs when they mature,” he added. “At the time of release we would ensure that the area does not have any Diclofenac presence and it has enough food and we would gradually withdraw from the area so that they can adjust in their natural habitat.”

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