Overall Advocacy Aims
The overall aim is to remove diclofenac and other untested veterinary drugs (NSAIDs) from veterinary use and the environment throughout the SAVE region
Immediate goals:
- Withdrawal of licensing of all vulture-toxic NSAIDs from veterinary use in all SAVE range-states and more widely.
- Implement safety-testing on vultures of all untested NSAIDs, and highlight the need for prompt withdrawal of those found to be toxic eg nimesulide.
- Embed a system of safety-testing for all NSAIDs currently (or potentially) in veterinary use, linked directly to governments licensing mechanism such that only those drugs already tested and found to be safe are licensed for veterinary use.
- Promote drugs (NSAIDs) that have been proved to be safe for vultures (so far, meloxicam and tolfenamic acid) and take steps to identify more safe drugs.
- Implementation of a high-profile anti-poisoning campaign (priority for SE Asia) with trial poison-bait response training and awareness workshops including for identified areas in South Asia where poison-baits threat is a known threat.
- Promotion of a network and approach of ‘Vulture Safe Zones’ to include trans-boundary cooperative efforts, involving satellite tagging of wild birds as well as released birds to carefully monitor mortality causes in 100km radius, especially for where releases are planned.
- Manage and develop a plan for the existing vulture conservation breeding programmes throughout South Asia.
- Develop national reporting systems for as many vulture deaths as possible, from any cause, with written recording and data storage protocols and pathways for immediate transportation and reliable tissue analysis throughout the SAVE region. Use this to inform a review of the priority threats.
- Major efforts urgently needed to address the immediate and increasing gap in funding for vulture conservation which now jeopardises the programme.
- Retain the regional network of communication with strong scientific basis to meet and review the SAVE Regional Recovery Plan (Blueprint) and priorities annually if possible, collating annual reporting against this plan.
