Wolter said that vultures typically eat in large groups. “This means that potentially you could find up to 50 birds at a time exposed to the poison. A couple of contaminated carcasses could halve the population of vultures.
“There is a very real chance of them going extinct in our lifetime.”
According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature‚ of the 22 species of vulture worldwide‚ 75% are under threat.
There is a growing number of “vulture restaurants”‚ fixed sites where carcasses are brought for vultures to feed off.
“We have been encouraging the creation of such sites which are also helpful to farmers as it is an easy way to dispose of an animal carcass‚” said Wolter
“However we need to make sure that the restaurants are managed correctly and that landowners understand the importance of the food. They need to be able to trust the source of the carrion and refuse to take it if it has been treated.” So far‚ only one drug used to treat domesticate animals‚ meloxicam‚ has been shown not to kill vultures.