Provide food for vultures to reduce mortality from diclofenac

Overall effectiveness category Likely to be beneficial
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

60%
Certainty

40%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug has caused widespread and dramatic declines in vulture populations in South Asia by inducing renal failure and visceral gout in birds feeding on the carcasses of livestock previously treated with the drug (Oaks et al. 2004). Whereas, there are measures to reduce its use and replace it with non-toxic alternatives (Pain et al. 2008), it has so far remained on sale. Vulture ‘restaurants’ have therefore been proposed as a method of reducing mortality until the drug is phased out, by providing a safe, uncontaminated source of food for the remaining vulture populations.

Other studies on the provision of food (for reasons other than diclofenac avoidance) are discussed in ‘Supplementary feeding’.

Pain, D.J., Bowden, C.G.R., Cunningham, A.A., Cuthbert, R., Das, D., Gilbert, M., Jakati, R.D., Jhala, Y., Khan, A.A., Naidoo, V., Lindsay Oaks, J., Parry-Jones, J., Prakash, V., Rahmani, A., Ranade, S.P., Sagar Baral, H., Ram Senacha, K., Saravanan, S., Shah, N., Swan, G., Swarup, D., Taggart, M.A., Watson, R.T., Virani, M.Z., Wolter, K. & Green, R.E. (2008) The race to prevent the extinction of South Asian vultures. Bird Conservation International, 18, S30-S48.

Oaks, J.L., Gilbert, M., Virani, M.Z., Watson, R.T., Meteyer, C.U., Rideout, B.A., Shivaprasad, H.L., Ahmed, S., Chaudhry, M.J.I., Arshad, M., Mahmood, S., Ali, A. & Khan, A.A. (2004) Diclofenac residues as the cause of vulture population decline in Pakistan. Nature, 427, 630–633.

Study locations

Key messages

A before-and-after trial in Pakistan found that oriental white-backed vulture Gyps bengalensis mortality rates were significantly lower when supplementary food was provided, compared to when it was not.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A before-and-after trial in 2003-4 (Gilbert et al. 2007) found that daily mortality of oriental white-backed vultures Gyps bengalensis at a colony in Punjab province, Pakistan, was significantly lower during two periods when supplementary food (diclofenac-free donkey carcasses) was provided at a nearby ‘vulture restaurant’, compared to two control periods (0.072 birds/day dying over 111 days when food was provided vs. 0.387 birds/day over 116 days without food). Of the 30 dead vultures examined (eight from supplemented periods), 29 showed signs of diclofenac poisoning. Home range size of three radio-tagged vultures appeared to contract when they discovered the ‘restaurant’ (thus reducing the possibility of contact with diclofenac) but two further tagged vultures did not use the restaurant at all.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Gilbert M., Watson R.T., Ahmed S., Asim M. & Johnson J.A. (2007) Vulture restaurants and their role in reducing diclofenac exposure in Asian vultures. Bird Conservation International, 17, 63-77.

Please cite as:

Williams, D.R., Child, M.F., Dicks, L.V., Ockendon, N., Pople, R.G., Showler, D.A., Walsh, J.C., zu Ermgassen, E.K.H.J. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Bird Conservation. Pages 137-281 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Bird Conservation

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