As a student of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, it is my responsibility to share about toxic effect of Diclofenac to vulture to all ambassador, mentors and members. 

Diclofenac is a common anti-inflammatory drug administered to livestock and is used to treat the symptoms of inflammation, fevers and/or pain associated with disease or wounds.

In Asia the drug is widely given to cattle because it is cheap and because losing livestock to lameness or fever can be devastating to small farmers with only a few animals.

The primary mechanism responsible for its anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, an analgesic action is thought to be inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis by inhibition of cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2). Diclofenac inhibits COX-2 with 20-fold more potency than COX-1 and is said to have a lower incidence of gastrointestinal complaints than COX-1 inhibitors such as aspirin. 

Diclofenac is given to working and ill farm cattle to reduce pain so that they can work on the land for longer. Farmers leave dead farm animals out in the open for the vultures to tidy up, and the vultures then feed from the carcasses of the cattle that die, and are poisoned by the Diclofenac contained in the flesh they eat.

After eating flesh of dead animals which contain Diclofenac vulture suffer from visceral gout.

Visceral gout is a disease of birds in which kidney failure causes a build-up of urates in the internal organs, leaving a chalky white coating on them. Symptoms include anorexia and emaciation. Vultures are particularly sensitive to poisoning by Diclofenac, which leads to renal failure, visceral gout and death to them.

Nepal had banned the use of the drug that proved toxic for vultures some 12 years ago, following a dramatic fall in the number of scavenging birds from Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

As per the Drugs Act-1978, anyone found producing, using, selling, importing, exporting and storing this drug, shall face three years jail term or a fine of Rs 25,000 cash or both.

Meloxicam (another NSAID) has been found to be harmless to vultures and should prove an acceptable alternative to Diclofenac.

Regardless of family, all vultures play a significant role in keeping our ecosystem healthy and clean.  Vultures do not hunt live prey, but act as scavengers feeding on the carcasses of dead animals.  The acid in their stomachs is highly corrosive, facilitating the digestion of decomposing carcasses infected with diseases such as anthrax, cholera, botulinum toxin, and rabies that would be lethal to other scavengers.  Despite first impressions, vultures are actually very hygienic animals.  Featherless or lightly feathered heads and necks help to keep vultures clean as they feed.

#SaveVultures

#StopDiclofenaceUse

Source : Google

               http://www.birdlifenepal.org/news