Partial recovery of Critically Endangered<i>Gyps</i>vulture populations in Nepal

Galligan, Toby H.; Bhusal, Krishna Prasad; Paudel, Khadananda; Chapagain, Devendra; Joshi, Ankit B.; Chaudhary, Ishwari P.; Chaudhary, Anand; Baral, Hem Sagar; Cuthbert, Richard; Green, Rhys E.

doi:10.1017/s0959270919000169

Cited by 43 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The prevalence of diclofenac in cattle carcasses before and after bans in Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan was not measured. However, population surveys of vultures in Nepal and Pakistan have shown a reversal of declines since the bans on veterinary diclofenac (Chaudhry et al 2012, Galligan et al 2019.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in the availability of the vulture-toxic drug, diclofenac, and other NSAIDs in South Asia, as revealed by covert pharmacy surveys

Galligan

Mallord

Prakash

et al. 2020

Bird Conservation International

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Summary The catastrophic declines of three species of ‘Critically Endangered’ Gyps vultures in South Asia were caused by unintentional poisoning by the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac. Despite a ban on its veterinary use in 2006 (India, Nepal, Pakistan) and 2010 (Bangladesh), residues of diclofenac have continued to be found in cattle carcasses and in dead wild vultures. Another NSAID, meloxicam, has been shown to be safe to vultures. From 2012 to 2018, we undertook covert surveys of pharmacies in India, Nepal and Bangladesh to investigate the availability and prevalence of NSAIDs for the treatment of livestock. The purpose of the study was to establish whether diclofenac continued to be sold for veterinary use, whether the availability of meloxicam had increased and to determine which other veterinary NSAIDs were available. The availability of diclofenac declined in all three countries, virtually disappearing from pharmacies in Nepal and Bangladesh, highlighting the advances made in these two countries to reduce this threat to vultures. In India, diclofenac still accounted for 10–46% of all NSAIDs offered for sale for livestock treatment in 2017, suggesting weak enforcement of existing regulations and a continued high risk to vultures. Availability of meloxicam increased in all countries and was the most common veterinary NSAID in Nepal (89.9% in 2017). Although the most widely available NSAID in India in 2017, meloxicam accounted for only 32% of products offered for sale. In Bangladesh, meloxicam was less commonly available than the vulture-toxic NSAID ketoprofen (28% and 66%, respectively, in 2018), despite the partial government ban on ketoprofen in 2016. Eleven different NSAIDs were recorded, several of which are known or suspected to be toxic to vultures. Conservation priorities should include awareness raising, stricter implementation of current bans, bans on other vulture-toxic veterinary NSAIDs, especially aceclofenac and nimesulide, and safety-testing of other NSAIDs on Gyps vultures to identify safe and toxic drugs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in the availability of the vulture-toxic drug, diclofenac, and other NSAIDs in South Asia, as revealed by covert pharmacy surveys

Galligan

Mallord

Prakash

et al. 2020

Bird Conservation International

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“…Tolfenamic acid is increasingly being used to treat injured cattle in the subcontinent (Galligan et al 2020), especially in Nepal and Bangladesh, and is manufactured in India and…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Diclofenac, which is used legally by humans, remains on sale for veterinary use illegally in India despite its ban (Galligan et al 2020). In addition, several other NSAIDs are available for approved veterinary use in pharmacies across the subcontinent (Galligan et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, the only NSAID that has been shown through experimental safety testing not to be toxic to vultures is meloxicam, which was found not to cause death or morbidity in captive Gyps vultures, nor elevate the concentration of uric acid in their blood serum, even at doses higher than the likely maximum level of exposure of wild birds (Swan et al 2006b, Swarup et al 2007). As a result, this drug has been promoted throughout South Asia as an alternative to diclofenac, has become more commonly offered for use on livestock, especially in Nepal (Galligan et al 2020), and has increased in prevalence in surveys of NSAID levels in cattle and water buffalo carcasses available to vultures in India (Cuthbert et al 2014). As expected from the experimental studies, there was no indication that two wild G. bengalensis found dead in India with meloxicam residues in the liver had died because of nephrotoxic effects of the drug (Cuthbert et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimental safety testing shows that the NSAID tolfenamic acid is not toxic to Gyps vultures in India at concentrations likely to be encountered in cattle carcasses

Sangh

Mallord

Kesavan

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Population declines of Gyps vultures across the Indian subcontinent were caused by unintentional poisoning by the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac. Subsequently, a number of other NSAIDs have been identified as toxic to vultures, while one, meloxicam, is safe at concentrations likely to be encountered by vultures in the wild. Other vulture-safe drugs need to be identified to reduce the use of those toxic to vultures. We report on safety-testing experiments on the NSAID tolfenamic acid on captive vultures of three Gyps species, all of which are susceptible to diclofenac poisoning. Firstly, we estimated the maximum level of exposure (MLE) of wild vultures and gave this dose to 38 Near Threatened G. himalayensis by oral gavage, with 15 control birds dosed with benzyl alcohol (the carrier solution for tolfenamic acid). Two birds given tolfenamic acid died with elevated uric acid levels and severe visceral gout, while the remainder showed no adverse clinical or biochemical signs. Secondly, four G. himalayensis were fed tissues from water buffaloes which had been treated with double the recommended veterinary dose of tolfenamic acid prior to death and compared to two birds fed uncontaminated tissue; none suffered any clinical effects. Finally, two captive Critically Endangered vultures, one G. bengalensis and one G. Indicus, were given the MLE dose by gavage and compared to two control birds; again, none suffered any clinical effects. The death of two G. himalayensis may have been an anomaly due to i) the high dose level used and ii) the high ambient temperatures at the time of the experiment. Tolfenamic acid is likely to be safe to Gyps vultures at concentrations encountered by wild birds and could therefore be promoted as a safe alternative to toxic NSAIDs. It is manufactured in the region, and is increasingly being used to treat livestock.

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“…Five species of vultures, resident to South Asia, were uplisted to Critically Endangered or Endangered as a result of declines known or suspected to be caused by diclofenac (Birdlife 2017). Veterinary diclofenac is now banned throughout South Asia and declines in most vulture populations have slowed and in some have been reversed (Chaudhary et al 2012; Galligan et al 2014, 2019; Paudel et al 2015; Prakash et al 2017). However, the illegal use of human formulatons of diclofenac in veterinary care is still occurring, especially in India, albeit at lower levels than before the bans (Galligan et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug nimesulide kills Gyps vultures at concentrations found in the muscle of treated cattle

Galligan

Green²,

Wolter³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Throughout South Asia, cattle are regularly treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and their carcasses are left for scavengers to consume. Residues of the NSAID diclofenac in cattle carcasses caused widespread mortality and catastrophic population declines in three species of Gyps vulture during the 1990s and 2000s. Diclofenac is now banned, but other NSAIDs are used in its place. Different lines of evidence, including safety testing in Gyps vultures, have shown that some of these other NSAIDs are toxic, or probably toxic, to vultures. The NSAID nimesulide is widely available and commonly used, and has been found in dead vultures with signs of renal failure (i.e. visceral gout) and without the presence of diclofenac and/or other vulture-toxic NSAIDs. Nimesulide is therefore probably toxic to vultures. Here, we report safety testing of nimesulide in Gyps vultures. In a controlled toxicity experiment, we gave two vultures the maximum likely exposure of nimesulide calculated from initial pharmacokinetic and residue experiments in cattle. Two other control birds were given an oral dose of water. Both vultures dosed with nimesulide died within 30 h, after showing outward signs of toxicity and increases in biochemical indicators of renal failure. Post-mortem examinations found extensive visceral gout in both vultures. Both control vultures survived without biochemical indicators of renal failure. With this evidence, we call for an immediate and comprehensive ban of nimesulide throughout South Asia to ensure the survival of the regions Critically Endangered vultures. More generally, testing the impacts of drugs on non-target species should be the responsibility of the pharmaceutical industry, before their veterinary use is licensed.

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Partial recovery of Critically EndangeredGypsvulture populations in Nepal

Cited by 43 publications

References 25 publications

Trends in the availability of the vulture-toxic drug, diclofenac, and other NSAIDs in South Asia, as revealed by covert pharmacy surveys

Trends in the availability of the vulture-toxic drug, diclofenac, and other NSAIDs in South Asia, as revealed by covert pharmacy surveys

Experimental safety testing shows that the NSAID tolfenamic acid is not toxic to Gyps vultures in India at concentrations likely to be encountered in cattle carcasses

The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug nimesulide kills Gyps vultures at concentrations found in the muscle of treated cattle

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