Vultures which used to be very common in Indian countryside some years ago are rarely seen nowadays. This is attributed to

The catastrophic decline of vultures in India is primarily attributed to the veterinary use of diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat cattle [2]. Vultures are exposed to this drug when they scavenge on the carcasses of livestock treated with diclofenac shortly before death [5]. The drug is highly toxic to vultures, causing severe kidney failure and visceral gout, leading to death within days [4]. This phenomenon resulted in a population crash of up to 99% for species like the Oriental white-backed vulture [6]. While other factors like food scarcity and habitat loss exist, diclofenac is recognized as the main driver of the collapse [5]. Consequently, the Indian government banned the veterinary use of diclofenac in 2006 and promoted meloxicam as a safe alternative [3].

Sources

1. [1] Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 4: BIODIVERSITY > project vulture > p. 47
2. [2] Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 16: Conservation Efforts > 16.4.12. Measures taken to Conserve Vultures > p. 238
3. [4] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1351921/
4. [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_vulture_crisis
5. [6] https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/12/17/getting-vultures-back-in-southern-india
6. [3] Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 16: Conservation Efforts > 16.4.3. Banned but still in use > p. 236