Birds Beware: Several veterinary drugs may kill scavengers
By Susan Milius
Scavenging birds worldwide could be at risk of accidental poisoning from carcasses of livestock that farmers had dosed with certain anti-inflammatory drugs, according to a survey of veterinarian records.
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The work grows out of discoveries in the past 2 years that several Gyps vulture species have almost vanished from India and Pakistan because residues of the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac in dead farm animals ruin the kidneys of the scavenger birds (SN: 2/4/06, p. 70: Available to subscribers at Bird-Safe Rx: Alternative drug won’t kill India’s vultures).