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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11India’s ban on veterinary diclofenac reduced a major threat to vultures, but it did not remove the drug from livestock carcasses or eliminate other harmful medicines. Illegal use and continued exposure helped leave populations in a precarious state: a 2024 review found no evidence of recovery in India, while reporting a more favorable trend in Nepal alongside reduced pharmacy availability and public-awareness efforts. A count of 390 vultures across three southern Indian states in February 2025 is a regional survey, not a measure of India’s total population.
How diclofenac caused the vulture crash
Diclofenac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat pain and inflammation in livestock. When vultures fed on carcasses of animals treated with the drug, they could suffer kidney failure and visceral gout and die. Because vultures often feed together, one contaminated carcass could expose several birds. The Convention on Migratory Species identifies veterinary diclofenac as the major cause of the South Asian Gyps vulture declines. The CMS recovery blueprint also records a 2007 estimate that India’s oriental white-backed vulture population had fallen to one-thousandth of its early-1990s level.
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The loss was exceptionally rapid. The Wildlife Institute of India’s 2025 assessment says three South Asian Gyps species lost more than 96% of their numbers in less than a decade during the historic crash. The Indian government has also recounted declines exceeding 90% in three species in many parts of the country, with diagnostic and post-mortem evidence implicating diclofenac in livestock carcasses. The WII assessment describes populations as critically low and fragmented.
Why the ban did not end exposure
Restrictions left routes for misuse
India banned veterinary diclofenac in 2006, but large multi-dose vials intended for human medicine could still be diverted for treating animals. In 2015, India restricted human diclofenac packaging to single-dose vials to make that misuse harder; the government has also reported a 2008 prohibition on manufacturing diclofenac for animal use. These measures reduced opportunities for exposure, but a legal ban and packaging restrictions are not the same as complete removal from circulation. The Government of India’s account of its vulture-protection measures describes these actions alongside conservation programs.
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Illegal sales and use continued
A 2024 review of policies and evidence reported that undercover pharmacy surveys in five Indian states in 2017 found diclofenac illegally available at between 10% and 47% of pharmacies, depending on the state. Those are historical survey results, not a current estimate of pharmacy availability. In a 2025 report, Tamil Nadu’s Director of Drugs Control said 104 cases were filed for veterinary misuse of diclofenac from 2016 to 2021; nearly all had resulted in convictions, with a few awaiting final judgment. The reported cases show enforcement activity, but do not establish how much illegal use remains today. Scroll.in’s report attributes that figure to the state official, and the 2024 review discusses ongoing exposure and policy gaps.
The review also summarizes historical evidence that the ban helped reduce poisoning without eliminating it: the estimated diclofenac-poisoning death rate per meal for white-rumped vultures in India fell by 65% within three years of the 2006 ban, yet 72% of white-rumped vultures found dead in the wild in India in 2009 had diclofenac contamination. These are estimates and observations from the years after the ban, not current rates.
Other veterinary drugs remain a concern
Removing one dangerous drug cannot protect vultures if other medicines used on livestock can also poison them. The 2024 review assessed the following NSAIDs for vulture toxicity and safety at likely exposure concentrations:
| Drug | Finding reported in the 2024 review |
|---|---|
| Aceclofenac | Toxic to vultures |
| Ketoprofen | Toxic to vultures |
| Nimesulide | Toxic to vultures |
| Flunixin | Toxic to vultures |
| Meloxicam | Confirmed safe at likely wild-exposure concentrations |
| Tolfenamic acid | Confirmed safe at likely wild-exposure concentrations |
The review warns that some NSAIDs considered toxic to vultures remained approved in countries within the birds’ range. Approval and restriction rules vary by country and can change, so the review should not be treated as a statement of current legal status everywhere. Its findings point to the importance of using veterinary alternatives confirmed safe for vultures, rather than assuming any substitute for diclofenac is harmless.
Stable numbers do not mean recovery
After a collapse, a population can stop falling quickly and still remain far below a viable or historically typical level. The WII’s 2025 report says that, despite stabilization, there is no evidence of significant recovery in any of the three species it assessed and that their numbers remain precarious. The 2024 review similarly describes Indian populations as no longer declining rapidly but without signs of recovery.
Nepal’s experience was more favorable in the review: pharmacy availability of diclofenac fell to a very low level within about six years of the ban, and population recovery coincided with that reduction and a public-awareness campaign. This country comparison does not prove that one policy alone caused the different outcomes. Drug access, enforcement, awareness, other toxic medicines, and population monitoring all matter.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the 2025 southern India count does—and does not—show
Scroll.in reported 390 vultures counted in a synchronized survey across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka in February 2025, compared with 320 in the previous year. The survey result indicates a higher count in that region than in the preceding year; it is not an all-India population estimate, and the two figures alone do not establish a sustained recovery trend. The article reported 157 birds in Tamil Nadu: 110 white-rumped, 31 long-billed, 11 red-headed, and five Egyptian vultures. It identifies the first three as critically endangered and the Egyptian vulture as endangered, citing the IUCN.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsCounts also depend on where and how observers look. Vultures range widely, so open-country surveys can miss birds or count the same mobile birds more than once. Nest and roost counts can provide a more reliable baseline for breeding individuals, but do not include the entire population, such as non-breeders. The WII report describes multiple independent monitoring efforts and emphasizes these limits. The cited regional count is dated February 2025; the sources cited here do not establish a newer count for the same three states or a new all-India census.
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What conservation efforts are doing
India’s reported response includes elevated legal protection for three species, the 2006 National Action Plan, monitoring committees, public education, captive-care and breeding centers, and the restrictions on veterinary diclofenac and its packaging. The WII assessment also describes captive breeding and release, awareness work with veterinarians, forest staff, and communities, and monitoring coordinated by conservation organizations and state departments. These activities are part of the response to the crash; the assessment does not claim that they have already produced broad population recovery.
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