Europe’s vultures under threat from drug that killed millions of birds in Asia

A Spanish griffon vulture. Vultures in Europe could be under threat from approval of the use of the drug diclofenac in Italy and Spain. Photograph: Chris Hellier/CORBIS

Wildlife groups have launched a Europe-wide campaign to outlaw a newly approved veterinary drug that has caused the deaths of tens of millions of vultures in Asia. They say that the decision to allow diclofenac to be used in Spain and Italy not only threatens to wipe out Europe’s vultures but could harm other related species, including the golden eagle and the Spanish imperial eagle, one of the world’s rarest raptors.

Scottish Gamekeepers Association starts bird protection scheme

The population of some of Scotland’s wading birds has dropped sharply in recent years

A new conservation project aims to help stop the decline of some of Scotland’s most vulnerable birds.

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) will ask its members to record the numbers of birds spotted.

This data will then be used to help target conservation efforts towards specific areas.

The wading bird population has dropped dramatically in Scotland with the numbers of some species falling by more than 50%.

Buzzard protection focus of Savannah River Ecology Lab study

Birds that get their sustenance from eating dead animals are the focus of a local study aimed at keeping them alive.

Amanda Holland, a University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources graduate student, helps tag a vulture.

Vultures, or scavenging birds that feed on carrion, have been on the decline in recent decades in many places across the globe. Jim Beasley, an assistant research scientist at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, wants to make sure that buzzards stick around in Georgia and South Carolina.

“Vultures are one of the species people tend to turn a blind eye to. They don’t have a lot of relevance to people,” said Beasley, one of several scientists leading a study that’s looking for a method to protect vultures.