A new study highlights the importance of vultures in wildlife conservation and their impact on public health. In India, vultures serve as nature’s sanitation service, feeding on rotting livestock carcasses and destroying germs with their strongly acidic digestive tracts. However, the use of an anti-inflammatory drug called diclofenac in treating cattle caused a significant decline in vulture numbers, leading to an increase in feral dogs and rats that carry diseases. This resulted in a rise in the death rate, with an estimated 500,000 additional human deaths between 2000 and 2005. Conservation efforts should prioritize these “not-so-cute” but crucial creatures.
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2023/08/22/the-sudden-demise-of-indian-vultures-killed-thousands-of-people