In a highly significant step forward for vulture conservation, India’s government has banned the use of Nimesulide – a widely used veterinary painkiller that’s highly toxic to these threatened birds.
Key to this ban are the tireless efforts of the SAVE Partnership, including BirdLife International, Bombay Natural History Society (BHNS – BirdLife in India), Bird Conservation Nepal (BirdLife in Nepal), NatureLife Cambodia (BirdLife in Cambodia) and the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK). Together, the partnership has been working to conserve vultures in Asia for more than 20 years. The ban on Nimesulide use relied on research by the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) with BHNS, the Salim Ali Centre of Ornithology, Pretoria University and the RSPB.
