History & Background - Milestones
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Since the discovery in the late 1990s that vulture populations were declining rapidly, a huge programme of work has been undertaken including a range of conservation focused work and research. Along the way the project has followed false leads and suffered many frustrations, however significant conservation achievements and progress has been made. The time-line at the bottom of this page provides summary information on the project's key conservation progress
Significant milestones for the vulture programme
2012 |
Vulture Workshop held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in May 2012 |
2011 |
Nov 2011 marked the first SAVE meeting organised by BNHS in Pinjore, Haryana and attended by all the SAVE partners for the first time. |
2011 |
In recognition of the anticipated imminent transition, a new phase of the programme has been launched in 2011 under the banner of Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction (SAVE). |
2011 |
Evidence was published that veterinary diclofenac formulations have become very scarce or absent from retail outlets across India and Nepal and that diclofenac levels in the environment have almost halved from 11% to 6% of cattle carcasses, which reduced predicted decline rate from 43% pa to 18% pa for Oriental white-backed vulture. Meloxicam availability (the safe drug) has increased markedly. |
2011 |
Gyps vulture status in 2011 Slender-billed vulture status in October 2011 Long-billed vulture status in October 2011 |
2010 |
In 2010, signs of decline in the use of veterinary diclofenac formulations or absent from retail outlets across India and that diclofenac levels in animal carcasses.Successful fledging of three captive bred Long-billed vultures in 2010, together with three more Slender-billed and four Oriental white‐backed vultures successfully demonstrated that all three species can be successfully bred at the centres. |
2009 |
Breeding centres in India produce 3 white-backed vulture fledglings and two slender-billed vulture fledglings, the first time that this species has ever been bred in captivity.
Nepal captures another 30 vulture chicks for the centre and completes construction of a colony aviary, as well as finalising details of a National Action Plan for vultures |
2008 |
Vulture Conservation Breeding Centres in India breed its first two Oriental white-backed vultures to be bred in captivity, breeding activity commences in India's two other breeding centres in Assam and West Bengal |
2008 |
Oriental White-backed Vulture status in November 2008 Slender-billed Vulturestatus in November 2008 Long-billed Vulturestatus in November 2008 |
2008 |
Nepal constructs it's own Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre |
2007 |
Repeat nationwide surveys of vultures across India confirm the continued decline of vultures, with numbers of Oriental white-backed vultures now reduced by 99.9% in comparison to 1992 |
2006 |
The governments of India, Nepal and Pakistan ban the manufacture and importation of veterinary diclofenac |
2006 |
India's Ministry of Environment and Forests produces a vulture action plan to tackle the conservation crisis within the country |
2006 |
Safety testing on African and Asian vultures demonstrates that an alternative veterinary drug, meloxicam, is safe for vultures and other scavenging birds as well as effective for treating livestock |
2004 |
The vulture research facility at Pinjore, Haryana State, India, is enlarged and converted in to Asia's first Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre |
2004 |
Vulture Recovery meetings in Nepal and India produces a "Diclofenac Manifesto" and "Vulture Recovery Plan" signed national and international conservation organisations with the support of national governments stating the need to ban the veterinary use of diclofenac, and the urgent requirements to find vulture safe alternative drugs and to capture and establish vulture conservation breeding centres |
2004 |
Work in India and Nepal confirms the presence of diclofenac residues in vulture carcasses with visceral gout and the widespread availability and use of this drug by veterinarians |
2003 |
Researchers from Pakistan and The Peregrine Fund discover that the veterinary drug diclofenac is widely used for treating livestock in Pakistan and is toxic to vultures |
2003 |
Nationwide surveys across India indicate vultures have declined by more than 90% in comparison to populations in the early 1990s, and that an abundance of carcasses and breeding habitat (large trees and cliffs) indicate that these factors are not important for the decline in numbers |
2000 |
Research in to the cause of the decline is initiated in South Asia, investigating the potential role of food shortages, poisoning, use of pesticides, disease or other factors in the deaths and rapid decline of vultures |
1999 |
Decline in vultures numbers in India is matched by similar declines in Pakistan and Nepa |
1998 |
Anecdotal observations and counts of vultures at Keoladeo National Park indicate a decline in numbers in India |
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