Research paper warns of the risks of veterinary pharmaceuticals to wildlife
Experts are calling for an EU-wide ban on the use of diclophenac in livestock, as it is placing fragile vulture populations at risk.
According to research published in the journal Science this week, a "one health" approach is needed to address the dangers of veterinary pharmaceuticals to wildlife.
Even traces of the drug in livestock carcasses are fatal to the vultures who feed on them. Contamination of less than 1 per cent of carcasses previously led to the near extinction of three Asian species. For this reason, veterinary use of diclophenac has already been banned in many South Asian countries.
Dr Lisa Yon from the University of Nottingham's School of Veterinary Medicine, said: "It is clear from the lessons learned on the profound impact of diclofenac on vultures in India that we need to take a more integrated, 'one Health' approach to our use of VPs, and the larger impact they have on non-target species, and on the environment.
"This is and will continue to be an issue of increasing concern for a wide variety of VPs, and one for which there needs to be greater responsibility taken across the range of stakeholders."
Last year, diclophenac was authorised for use in cattle, pigs and horses in Spain, where more than 95 per cent of the continent's vultures reside.
Spanish vultures help to control pests and disease by removing more than 8,000 tonnes of livestock caresses each year. This is estimated to save the economy €1.5 million annually.
Lead author of the research was Thijs Kuiken, professor of Comparative Pathology at the Erasmus Medical Centre. He said he was "shocked" that the drug had been authorised in Spain. "This example shows that we need to radically change the way we deal with pharmaceuticals, both those used in human and veterinary medicine."
The paper, titled "One health approach to use of veterinary pharmaceuticals", blames diclophenac for the near-extinction of vultures in Pakistan, India and Nepal in the 1990s. Veterinary diclophenac products were banned in India in 2006 and Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh followed suit shortly after. Experts say vulture declines have slowed or reversed in South Asia since the ban.
Co-author Martin Gilbert, a Wildlife Conservation Society vet, said the loss of vultures in South Asia was a "tragedy". He warned that unless action is taken, the situation could occur in Europe.
For the full study, visit: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2014/12/03/science.1260260
Image ©Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 2.5/Thermos
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
