Drug swap urged to save vultures

Wildlife experts are urging the Indian government to ban a widely used veterinary drug in order to save vultures from extinction.

Numbers have plummeted in recent years because they are being poisoned by traces of the anti-inflammatory drug, diclofenac, in animal carcasses.

A study published by the Public Library of Science says an alternative drug, meloxicam, is harmless to vultures.

Protecting vultures could help prevent the spread of diseases such as rabies.

Drug swap urged to save vultures