Asian vultures extinct within a decade
Several species of Asian vulture are being wiped out faster than the dodo because they are eating carcasses of livestock that have been treated with a veterinary drug which to them is highly toxic. According to conservationists, the birds can only be saved by banning the use of anti-inflammatory diclofenac and setting up a network of captive breeding centres. While the demise of vultures may not tug on the heart strings in the same way as the decline of a host of cuter creatures, they play a vital role in the Asian eco-system.