Thursday 10 June 2010

Desperate Measures-2



A vulture using a lab rat to check if the carcass contains diclofenac :)

Diclofenac is an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat cattle (also used as NSAID for humans as Diclofenac sodium). This drug has been responsible for mass deaths of Gyps vultures throughout south Asia. Vultures that feed on cattle carcasses containing Diclofenac (also Ketoprofen) suffer from gout and subsequent kidney failure. From 1993 to 2003, Diclofenace wiped out vulture populations by almost 99 percent, endangering several species that were earlier our most common vultures such as the White-backed and the Long-billed Vultures. Veterinary Diclofenac is now banned, and an alternative to it, Meloxicam has been made available, but Diclofenac is still being used illegally as it is cheaper than its substitute, and the threat to our vultures' existence still persists.

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3 comments:

  1. Hi ,
    I like your cartooning a lot ....

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  2. Superb illustration. drives the message across,
    If you wish to contribute to wildlife conservation,
    I have a request. There is a temple called Himovad Gopalaswamy in Bandipur national Park karnataka. people visiting the temple stray far and wide, recently a person was killed and eaten presumed to be a tiger, a couple of bear attacks etc.Can you write a couple of cartoons which I can use to drive awareness here.
    keep up the good job.

    Praveen Ram
    Vanya let the wild be wild.

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