In a last ditch effort to save the Indian vulture from complete extinction, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has called for a ban or at least controlled production of Diclofenac -- a painkiller meant primarily for humans but, which, till recently was regularly used as an injectable drug on cattle by veterinary doctors.

Vultures cannot digest Diclofenac and hours after they feed on an animal carcass that has been injected with the drug, they die of renal failure. As a result of rampant use of the drug on cattle across India, the country’s vulture population, over a million even two decades back, has seen a 99 per cent decline, according to a government of India report of 2009. The Centre started phasing out the use of the drug for veterinary purposes in 2005. Today, using the drug on cattle is illegal.