Vultures are facing catastrophic population declines across Africa and Asia from poisoning, lead ingestion, and targeted killing. Their welfare and ecological importance are deeply intertwined.
Vultures dying from carbamate or organophosphate poisoning experience convulsions, paralysis, and prolonged death before dying — an acutely painful process affecting hundreds of birds from a single poisoning event. Lead-poisoned vultures show progressive neurological deterioration including inability to fly, disorientation, and eventually death from organ failure — a process lasting days to weeks. The deliberate targeting of vultures by poachers, who recognise that circling birds alert rangers to illegal kills, represents premeditated mass killing of iconic species. Veterinary intervention for poisoned vultures is rarely available at the necessary scale.