Decline of Indian vultures led to 500k human deaths
The decline of Indian vultures, linked to 500,000 human deaths over five years, is due to diclofenac use. Their loss increases disease transmission, with economic impacts exceeding $69 billion annually.
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The decline of Indian vultures, once numbering around 50 million, has been linked to approximately 500,000 human deaths over five years due to the spread of disease. The vulture population drastically decreased in the mid-1990s due to the use of diclofenac, a painkiller for cattle that is toxic to vultures. Despite a ban on the drug in 2006, populations of several vulture species have continued to decline, with losses of 91-98% reported. A recent study published in the American Economic Association journal highlights the ecological role of vultures in controlling disease by consuming dead animals, which helps prevent the proliferation of harmful bacteria and pathogens. The study found that in areas where vultures once thrived, human death rates increased by over 4% following the vulture population collapse. The loss of vultures has led to a rise in feral dog populations, which are ineffective at cleaning carcasses, resulting in increased disease transmission to humans. The economic impact of these additional deaths is estimated at over $69 billion annually. The remaining vulture populations are now primarily found in protected areas, where they feed on wildlife rather than livestock. Experts warn that ongoing threats, including veterinary drugs and habitat disruption, continue to endanger vultures. While there are some signs of recovery, such as the release of captive-bred vultures, significant conservation efforts are still needed to restore these critical scavengers to their former numbers and mitigate their impact on human health.
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12 commentsReading this sentence gave me the unsettling feeling of cattle carcasses tossed into the trash, along with a feeling of, "surely that doesn't happen in the US?"
It turns out that landfilling a carcass seems to be a legitimate option (item 3 at [0]), and isn't something I'd ever thought about before.
0: https://efotg.sc.egov.usda.gov/references/public/UT/Cow_Mort...
> By the mid-1990s, the 50 million-strong vulture population had plummeted to near zero (...) Since the 2006 ban on veterinary use of diclofenac, the decline has slowed in some areas, but at least three species have suffered long-term losses of 91-98% (...)
Wikipedia claims that before this, a vulture species "was thought to be the most abundant large bird of prey in the world"[1].
I think this is the real problem. Modern sanitation doesn’t depend on vultures. Having carcass dumps near population centers is going to cause problems even with vultures.
Nature is very efficient. If there opportunity, it seems like some animals might evolve to fill that role.
As someone who grew up watching "Life on Earth," I could not relate to their question at all. It was like if someone asked me, "Why should I care about oxygen?"
And of course, I had the shame that if I can't explain something simply, then I don't really understand it.
I still don't have a great answer that I can offer. But wow, this seems like another footnote I should add to my answer.
Isn't this a giant leap of faith to claim that the increase in the number of deaths must be caused by loss of vultures? Correlation is not causation! How did they rule out other confounding factors? How are they so sure that this increase is definitely due to loss of vultures? Some more details on the research methodology and these technical details would be nice!
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