The painkiller diclofenac – which you have rubbed onto sore muscles as Voltaren – is fed to arthritic cows in India as an act of charity; but when vultures scavenge the carcasses, the drug is lethal to them. Vulture populations have crashed, in one study to 3% of previous levels. Packs of feral dogs, many rabid, have flourished. The anxious Parsees of Mumbai, deprived of their traditional funeral partners, have been forced to incinerate their loved ones in solar ovens. (Have they discovered a green outsourcing opportunity?)
The Indian government has halted veterinary production of the drug. Good for them, but late in the day. The US government, as you would expect, has been far more proactive in vulture conservation.
