Is the lack of vultures and buzzards killing us?
One of the major disasters that has been flying under the radar is the rapid decline in the number of vultures and buzzards around the world. Vultures and buzzards are a vital part of the process that disposes of dead animals in the wild. A flock of them can easily eat a large animal carcass in a very short time, about twenty minutes or so. This is very important because it keeps the carcass from polluting the land and the water and it also stops other scavengers from coming into contact with diseased carcasses and spreading the diseases to domestic animals and people.
The thinking is that if the number of vultures and buzzards continue to decline it will have a serious effect on human health.
Why we should all be worried about a vulture apocalypse
"A catastrophic decline of vulture populations in Africa and Asia is causing alarm among researchers, who fear that a “cascade” effect could lead to the spread of deadly old and new diseases, including plague, anthrax, and rabies."
"But now, many vultures and other raptor species are diving beak first into the abyss. In the 1990s, vulture populations on the Indian subcontinent plummeted by about 99 per cent. Seven out of eleven of the species found in Africa are now on the verge of extinction."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/why-should-worried-vulture-apocalypse/
Who knows what kinds of pandemics we will have when the vultures become extinct?
The thinking is that if the number of vultures and buzzards continue to decline it will have a serious effect on human health.
Why we should all be worried about a vulture apocalypse
"A catastrophic decline of vulture populations in Africa and Asia is causing alarm among researchers, who fear that a “cascade” effect could lead to the spread of deadly old and new diseases, including plague, anthrax, and rabies."
"But now, many vultures and other raptor species are diving beak first into the abyss. In the 1990s, vulture populations on the Indian subcontinent plummeted by about 99 per cent. Seven out of eleven of the species found in Africa are now on the verge of extinction."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/why-should-worried-vulture-apocalypse/
Who knows what kinds of pandemics we will have when the vultures become extinct?