“Restaurants” and Vulture Conservation in Nepal

Believe it or not “restaurants” are being set-up for vultures in Nepal. These restaurants are targeted to preserve the wild vultures that have seen a huge decrease in their population owing to inappropriate meal. The vulture population in Nepal is estimated to have fallen to a mere 500 nesting pairs from at least 50,000 pairs in 1990.

In 2004 researchers working in Pakistan discovered that diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug used in livestock, was poisoning and killing vultures (29 July 2006, BBC). Nepal started producing a new cattle drug meloxicam, which is considered a safe alternative for anti-inflammatory diclofenac, and it is intended to halt a big decline in endangered vultures. (August 04 2006, iol). Although the use of diclofenac is prohibited in Nepal and neighbouring India, but the ban is widely ignored.
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