India faces health threats as vultures vanish

A recent report by vulture researchers in Kenya reveals that at Bunyala Rice Scheme in western Kenya by the shores of Lake Victoria, thousands of birds are being poisoned every week.

Bird meat is a delicacy among the local Bunyala and they have found that the use of furadan is an easy “hunting” option to get birds for sell.

In small doses, furadan poses little danger to humans but long-term effects could be serious.

At this point there are five vulture breeding centers in the world – three in India, one in Pakistan and one in Nepal.

Vultures are integral for healthy environments feeding on carcasses that would otherwise rot and become breeding grounds for numerous diseases.

However to stop the vultures from vanishing forever, there is the need for both public awareness and the political will to see lethal chemicals like furadan and diclofenac taken off the shelves and a stop to their manufacturing.

In India, even though the issue of the diclofenac has been discussed in parliament and the Drug Controller General of India issuing a letter to all state drug controllers to stop issuing licenses and also to withdraw licenses to manufacture the diclofenac for veterinary uses, farmers are substituting it for furadan formulated for human use.

In Kenya, despite many calls to politicians, furadan is still on the market and used rampantly in the country.

The time to save the vultures is now before it joins the dodo on the extinction list.

Email: rupi.mangat@yahoo.com