There is welcome news as Oman becomes the first country in the Arabian Peninsula to ban veterinary diclofenac, following the examples set by India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Iran. The ban has been imposed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, a move welcomed by the Environment Society of Oman (ESO). Diclofenac…

Many thanks to those of you who participated in or were able to attend our first online open day on 24th November. We are delighted to be able to make all of the main presentations from this year’s event available here. If you missed any sessions or were otherwise unable to attend, please take advantage…

An important 118 page vulture conservation action plan has been released by the Government of India. With forewords by the Minister for the Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), by the Minister of State MoEFCC, by Secretary MoEFCC, and by Director General MoEFCC, plus an extended Preface by Mr Soumitra Dasgupta (now DG). The document…

Announcing the SAVE Annual Review Open Day event!! We are very excited that this year’s Annual SAVE meeting (Our 10th AGM) will take place on Tuesday 24th November and is now open for registration. The programme includes reports from the six partner countries, as well as speed talks from some of our well-known vulture specialists.…

Dr Ram Jakati with his award At the RSPB’s online AGM, attended by 1100 live participants, Dr Ram Jakati, SAVE FACC member and chair for five years, was awarded the RSPB Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Nature Conservation for his services above all to vultures and to SAVE. The announcement was made by Prof Debbie…

A white-rumped vulture at Pinjore (Chris Bowden, RSPB) Last week, eight white-rumped vultures were released as a pilot trial by the Haryana State Forest Minister from close to the Pinjore Jatayu Breeding Centre in northern Haryana, India. The centre, which is managed by BNHS, with funds from Haryana Forest Department, central Government and the Royal…

There were many events held in South Asia around 5th September for International Vulture Awareness Day… Nepal hosted many events summarised here by BCN, most notably a national vulture count was organised on 5th September, and this was explained in an article in Himalayan Nature. BCN also launched a photobook with superb images of all…

In Bangladesh a major live event, organised by IUCN Bangladesh and the Forest Department, was widely attended including by Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Shahab Uddin, three prominent MPs, National vulture experts and SAVE/RSPB. It clearly called for a national ketoprofen ban, and highlighted the other priorities for conserving vultures. There was national TV…

The pharmacy surveys paper has further serious implications and this news piece features John Mallord’s second blog explaining why this is important both in Asia and worldwide: A recently-published paper detailing the results of undercover pharmacy surveys highlighted the ongoing risk to South Asia’s vultures of the continued availability of diclofenac (see our previous news…

Results from pharmacy surveys in India, Nepal and Bangladesh have been published in a major update in Bird Conservation International (BCI). As a special concession for vulture conservation, BCI have kindly allowed free access for the first two months, so do take advantage and download. John Mallord (corresponding author) highlights the full implications of the…