Abstract:
The drug known as carprofen, which was found to be toxic to vultures, belongs to the same family of drugs as diclofenac and meloxicam. In South Asia, the frequent and widespread use of diclofenac to treat cattle and buffalo has led to a catastrophic decline in the populations of vultures that consume livestock carcasses. Currently five South Asian vulture species are either endangered, or critically endangered. Clinical trials showed that another drug, meloxicam, is harmless to vultures, even at the maximum level of exposure in carcasses. However, tens of drugs belong to this family, known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs, and the levels of toxicity of most remain unknown.
