Drug companies often get a bad rap, but one firm in Nepal has voluntarily taken steps to halt the dramatic decline in the country鈥檚 vulture population.
Vulture numbers in the Indian subcontinent have crashed to a few thousand from 40 million a decade ago. One major cause is the widespread use of the drug diclofenac, which is given to livestock to relieve pain. In 2003, diclofenac was found to be lethal to vultures, which scavenge meat from the carcasses of treated animals.
Last week, Medivet, Nepal鈥檚 largest manufacturer of veterinary diclofenac, announced it will replace it with a safe alternative called meloxicam for the same price. 鈥淲e鈥檙e keen to give them a huge pat on the back for that,鈥� says Chris Bowden, of The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. India already plans to replace diclofenac with meloxicam, while Medivet鈥檚 move has prompted Nepal to push for the same switch.
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