Just for the record, it didn’t happen here at Bempton Cliffs.
And it’s not quite as weird as it sounds if you also know that a group of us were listening to the RSPB’s Head of European Operations, Norbert Schaffer, when the comment was made. And if it doesn’t sound weird at all, you probably already know something about the plight of Indian vultures.
Dr Schaffer enlightened us by explaining that three species - the Oriental white-backed, the long-billed and the slender-billed vulture - have declined by more than 97% since the early 1990s. This change in the birds’ fortune is because of a veterinary drug, diclofenac, which is toxic to any vulture that feeds on the carcass of recently treated cattle.
As part of a project to save the birds from extinction, the RSPB, along with its BirdLife partners, has begun breeding the vultures in captivity and the good news is, they’re doing well. The bad news is, they’re high maintenance in the eating department , consuming round £150,000 worth of goat’s meat a year. So when someone donates an elephant carcass, you don’t turn your nose up.
Now some people might say we should concentrate on the plight of birds in our own country. But, as with all things in nature, what happens in one country can affect what happens on the other side of the world. And let’s face it, our name doesn’t specify which birds, endangered or not, we should help. However, Dr Schaffer was keen to add that a considerable percentage of the money used on international work does not come out of the UK pot. So our work at home isn’t affected by our work abroad.
For more on this fascinating story, visit http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/vultures/