Wild Vulture Conservation and Welfare Crisis

The welfare crisis facing African and Asian vultures from poisoning and diclofenac and conservation responses.

Key Facts

African vulture populations have declined by over 60% in the past 30 years, with some species critically endangered
Asian vulture populations collapsed by over 97% following introduction of the veterinary drug diclofenac
Vultures die when consuming carcasses of animals treated with NSAIDs including diclofenac that persist in tissues
Indian and African vulture species recover their populations extremely slowly due to low reproductive rates
Vulture restaurants providing safe uncontaminated carcasses have supported population recovery in Europe
Vultures provide essential ecosystem services including rapid carcass removal that reduces disease spread

Welfare Considerations

Vulture welfare crises are driven by human activities that make their essential ecological role lethal. Poisoning from veterinary drugs, deliberate poisoning by poachers covering their activities, and secondary poisoning from contaminated carcasses all cause population-level welfare harm at enormous scale. The welfare of individual vultures dying from renal failure after diclofenac exposure, or from deliberate poison events that kill hundreds at once, represents preventable suffering caused by specific policy failures. Banning diclofenac for veterinary use and protecting carcasses from poacher poison use are high-impact, achievable welfare and conservation interventions.

What You Can Do

Support vulture conservation programs in Africa and Asia working on poisoning prevention
Advocate for complete bans on diclofenac for veterinary use in vulture range countries
Donate to Vulture Conservation Foundation and African Raptor Biocentre
Raise awareness about vulture ecosystem services and the poisoning crisis driving population collapse