The second annual meeting of Saving Asia's Vultures from Extinction (SAVE)" consortium was held in Kathmandu, 5-6 November and reports major progress from the ten national and international partners. Opened by guest of honour Director General of Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Mr. Megh Bahadur Pandey chaired by UK’s world renowned raptor expert, Professor Ian Newton, who described the meeting as highly successful and despite the progress, bringing the partners closer than ever in focusing on how to remove the killer drug diclofenac from the environment.

Representatives came from all four South Asian countries Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan and several from UK.Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), National Trust of Nature Conservation (NTNC) and Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) were the organisations participated the meeting from Nepal.

An advocacy strategy and action points were developed through the meeting that all ten partners can implement to combat the ongoing use of diclofenac. Similarly the meeting worked out on the spectre of other untested veterinary drugs being allowed to take their place and undo the progress to date in getting the veterinary diclofenac formulations banned.

Professor Newton commented that the gradual declines in diclofenac levels and the development of ‘vulture safe zones’ free from the drug, together with captive breeding in India  are major signs of progress, but unless safety testing of other cattle painkillers leads to their removal from veterinary use, then we risk losing the battle to save these birds.