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Vulture news from 2004
Indian conservation advocacy officer
BNHS appointed Nita Shah in December 2004 to the vulture team. Nita's role will co-ordinate conservation advocacy work in India. The role recognises the increasing work that the vulture project is generating and the urgent need to lobby government and NGOs and coordinate conservation actions in India.
Change of personnel at RSPB
Dr Susanne Shultz who has been coordinating vulture research at the RSPB has moved to take up a lectureship at the University of Liverpool. Dr Richard Cuthbert replaced Susanne in September 2004.
RSPB publishes paper modelling impact of diclofenac
Work led by Dr Rhys Green of the RSPB has modelled the potential impact of diclofenac on vultures in Asia (Green et al. 2004), and concludes that diclofenac is the main, or only, cause of vulture declines. Considerable press interest arose from this publication (follow links: BBC South Asia, Channel News Asia, Medical New Today).
Manifesto agreed 2004
The strength of the diclofenac findings, together with the critical state of vulture populations have convinced all the major conservation organisations to agree to a manifesto on the importance of limiting the exposure of vultures to diclofenac . As Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB's director of conservation, said: "The Asian vulture crisis is one of the world's most important conservation priorities". Click here to view the manifesto
Vulture Rescue publishes paper on diclofenac in India and Nepal
Research published by our team (Shultz et al. 2004) indicates that diclofenac is the major cause of mortality across India and Nepal, and affects long-billed as well as Oriental white-backed vultures.
Nature publishes paper on Diclofenac and vulture declines
The significant findings on the role of the veterinary drug, diclofenac were published in the journal Nature in 2004, following work by the Peregrine Fund. The paper provides very strong evidence that diclofenac is the major cause of vulture declines in Pakistan. Go to The Peregrine Fund to view the paper.
RSPB Appoints 'Vulture Programme Manager'
RSPB has formalised a long-term commitment to support South Asian vulture conservation. To manage the increased work-load and co-ordinate RSPB activities, Chris Bowden was appointed in 2004 as the RSPB Vulture Programme Manager in charge of coordinating captive breeding and conservation advocacy.
Asian vulture workshops agree on conservation priorities
Two meetings took place in 2004, the Kathmandu Summit Meeting called by The Peregrine Fund and Bird Conservation Nepal during February 2004 and the Vulture recovery plan workshop convened by BNHS and the Haryana State Government in India. Representatives identified the main priorities necessary to prevent the extinction of vultures in the wild. The recommendations from the workshops can be viewed here.
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