We are very excited to announce that the SAVE Open Day will take place on Tuesday 24th January 2023 and is now open for registration. The programme (GMT) is shown below: 7.30-7.55 Welcome, Opening address and Highlights of 2022 7.55-8.40 Country updates 2022 from Pakistan, Nepal and India with Q&A 8.50-9.30 Country updates 2022 from…

The veterinary painkiller drug aceclofenac very quickly metabolises into diclofenac in cattle, and an important new study by the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) and collaborators shows that the same is true in water buffalo as well as in cows. Diclofenac used as a painkiller for cattle (an now banned for veterinary use in many…

On 20 October 2022, the first ever critically endangered White-rumped Vulture (WRV) was satellite tagged in the Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary, in the heart of Vulture Safe Zone 1 of Bangladesh. The tagging was done by a team of experts comprising officials from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and IUCN Bangladesh. Prior…

With the growing emphasis and need for GSM and PTT tagging of vultures to understand survival rates as well as movements and the safety of areas for releases of captive vultures from the breeding programme, it is crucial to fit the tags as efficiently and safely as possible. An IUCN Vulture Specialist Group workshop held…

White-rumped vulture Changa manga, Pakistan Saturday 3rd September was International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD), and partners of SAVE were busy in all six range countries spreading awareness of vultures and the challenges they face. In Bangladesh, the Forest Department and IUCN Bangladesh hosted an event at the Hoimanti Auditorium, in Dhaka. This event was graced…

It is with great sadness that we heard last week that SAVE and vulture stalwart Dr Ram Jakati passed away following a long battle with cancer. We have conveyed our condolences to his wife and family. Dr Jakati, who was Chief Wildlife Warden for the Forest Department in Haryana for many years, played a key…

We are delighted to share the news that our very own Chris Bowden has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to environmental science and international vulture conservation. Chris’ career has seen him make a substantial contribution to saving four bird species from the brink of global extinction (Northern bald…

As reported in the Indian press, ‘The Hindu’ – The office of the Director of Drugs Control, Tamil Nadu has registered over 100 cases against suppliers, distributors, manufacturers, and retailers of diclofenac. Since the 2006 ban of veterinary diclofenac, and the vial size restriction to 3ml needed for human use, this is the first time…

The ultimate goal of any breeding programme involving critically endangered species is to be able to supplement wild populations to prevent their extinction. But within this overall aim, there are several other criteria that ideally need to be met. These include released birds behaving in ways similar to their wild counterparts; to successfully breed, perhaps…

A paper published in the current issue of Science of the Total Environment (here) confirms that the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), nimesulide, is toxic to vultures, following safety testing of the drug on vultures in South Africa. Since the banning of veterinary diclofenac, the NSAID which drove three species of Gyps vultures to near-extinction in…