Vultures in Assam dying by secondary poisoning. What needs to be done?

In recent years, Assam has witnessed devastating vulture die-offs due to secondary poisoning—a serious but often overlooked threat. When carcasses of poisoned cattle or dogs are left in the open, vultures feeding on them unknowingly ingest lethal toxins, leading to mass fatalities.

Several incidents have been reported from Sivasagar, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, and Kamrup, where entire vulture colonies have perished overnight. As nature’s most efficient scavengers, vultures play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance by preventing the spread of diseases. Their decline poses a significant risk to ecosystem health.

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Wildlife biologist Dr. Nilutpal Mahanta, in an interview with IndiaTodayNE, highlighted the severity of the crisis. “I have been raising my voice against this mass killing of vultures since 2000. The first incident that shook me happened in Kamrup’s Chhaygaon area, where around 100 vultures died due to poisoning.”

Dr. Mahanta explained how vulture populations have suffered across India due to toxic veterinary drugs used on cattle. “There are certain chemical compounds in these drugs—like Diclofenac, Esylophenac, and Ketoprofen—which Indian scientists have identified as lethal to vultures. The Indian government banned Diclofenac for veterinary use in 2006, followed by bans on other drugs. However, if a treated animal dies and its carcass is left in open areas, vultures feeding on it ingest these compounds, which cause gout and renal failure. Within 20 days to a month, the vultures start to die.”

However, Assam faces an additional crisis—secondary poisoning. Unlike direct poisoning from veterinary drugs, secondary poisoning occurs when people deliberately lace carcasses with toxins. This practice is often an act of retaliation against predators such as stray dogs and wild carnivores that attack livestock.

“In Assam, people do not intend to kill vultures,” Dr. Mahanta explained. “Many livestock owners become enraged when their animals are killed by stray dogs or wild predators. In retaliation, they poison the carcasses to eliminate these predators, without realizing that vultures may also consume them.”

What needs to be done?

Raise awareness about the dangers of poisoning carcasses? 

Engage local communities to find humane alternatives for managing predators? 

Strengthen monitoring efforts to prevent wildlife poisoning? 

Support vulture-safe zones and conservation programs.

Conservationists and wildlife experts emphasize that urgent action is needed to prevent further vulture deaths and protect Assam’s fragile ecosystem. Without intervention, the region may soon lose one of nature’s most crucial scavengers forever.