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Andrew Routh - Chief Veterinary Officer

When was it first noticed that there was a decline in vulture populations?

In 1999. Vultures were extremely common and so there must have been a huge decline before people noticed. Now they are being monitored. Within 10-15 years we have gone from massively numerous vulture populations to them being on the edge of extinction. Research has shown that a drug used for cattle was killing the vultures. When as cows are not eaten in India when the cattle die the vultures will eat them. You’ll notice some species of vulture have bare necks and this is because they stick their heads right into the carcasses.

What species of vultures were you looking at?

Oriental white backed, slender billed and the long billed vultures.

What is happening now?

The drug has been identified and although it is widely used, a replacement is being looked into so the cattle can still be looked after without harming the vultures in the wild. ZSL are setting up a captive breeding programme and are waiting to release the vultures back into the wild once the drug has been eliminated.

Where do the vultures come from for the breeding programmes?

We take the fledglings from the nest, or from kite festivals that happen in India. The kite festival involves lots of kites being flown that have sharp glass covered string. This string can cause a lot of injuries to the birds, and the vultures rescued by vets will often join the captive breeding programme as they are permanently disabled.

Have any been re-released yet?

Not yet. Surveys carried out by the RSPB and Bombay Natural History Organisation show the populations are still declining. None of the birds in the breeding programme have reached re-introduction age yet either, vultures only lay one egg per year so it is an extremely slow process. The European Griffon Vulture and Condor have provided successful model for the captive breeding/re-introduction programme. However we won’t be able to put any birds back in the wild for at least 5 years.

Have other animal populations changed due to the decrease in vultures?

The stray dog numbers have unfortunately increased and a lot of them carry rabies. Rabies is already a problem in India but this has meant it has even more so now with the decline of the vulture population.