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The shadow of diclofenac hangs over European vultures

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 1, page 1050 (2017)Cite this article

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To the Editor — Of the sixteen Old World vultures, 81% are globally threatened or near-threatened; four vulture species inhabit Europe, of which three are threatened or near-threatened. Since 1993, the EU and various national governments have invested significant financial resources in the conservation of vultures — including at least 76 LIFE projects related to these species — and between 1993 and 2014 spent €121.9 million, of which €59.7 million came from European funds. During this period, Spain, home to 90% of all European vultures, invested €72.8 million (€30.8 million received from EU) on 38 projects related to vulture conservation1.

However, all these conservation efforts will be of little worth if the use of veterinary diclofenac, authorized in Spain since 2013, spreads. A mathematical model has estimated that annually diclofenac could cause 715–6,389 vulture deaths2. Thus, its potential ecological impact on ecosystem services is obvious.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Life Sciences and Engineering, University of Lleida, Lleida, 25198, Spain

    Antoni Margalida & Pilar Oliva-Vidal

  2. Division of Conservation Biology. Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, 3012, Switzerland

    Antoni Margalida

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  1. Antoni Margalida
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  2. Pilar Oliva-Vidal
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Correspondence to Antoni Margalida.

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Margalida, A., Oliva-Vidal, P. The shadow of diclofenac hangs over European vultures. Nat Ecol Evol 1, 1050 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0255-y

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