AMMAN — The Royal Society for the Conservation of
Nature (RSCN) convened a workshop on the deadly impact of diclofenac medicine on
endangered eagles in Jordan.
اضافة اعلان
diclofenac is an anti-inflammatory medicine, which
local veterinarians and pharmacists prescribe to cure cattle, camels, and cows.
It is manufactured and imported largely in Jordan under different trademarks,
according to Tariq Al-Qaneer, director of the RSCN’s Bird Project Department.
Wednesday’s meeting was sponsored by the RSCN
through the Egyptian Vulture New LIFE project, which is funded by the EU and
the Migratory Soaring Birds project, which in turn is funded by the Global
Environment Facility. Projects are executed by the UN Development Program, and
Birdlife International Company.
Fadi Al-Naser, the RSCN’s director-general, said
Jordan’s geographical location “is an important immigration point for birds in
the region”.
“The RSCN conducted many programs with different
partners to protect migratory birds by issuing booklets and brochures;
including the National Guide for Hunters,” he told
Jordan News.
the timing of the workshop is perfect in light of the current challenges affecting the nature.
He said the RSCN “is always willing to cooperate
with various bodies to protect nature”.
Ibrahim Khader, regional director of Birdlife
International Company, said “the timing of the workshop is perfect in light of
the current challenges affecting the nature.”
Khader said the quality of birds “is a strong
indicator of the biodiversity quality”, pointing out that “despite the
technological improvement, risks still persist.”
He explained that hunting is very common in the
region, where millions of birds are killed each year due to different reasons.
One of the reasons, Khader said, is the use of
“diclofenac which exists in the bodies of dead animals, which eagles feed
upon”.
The medicine was banned in several countries,
including India and Iran. “We are trying our best to ban the medicine in Jordan
too, since there are many substitutes to it in the local market,” Khader said.
Qaneer said the RSCN was not aware that the
diclofenac existed in Jordan until a letter from Yemen “informed us that
migratory eagles coming from Jordan died when they arrived in Yemen with
Diclofenac in their system”.
Qaneer noted that the more dead eagles, the more
stray dogs spread and feed on dead animals, leading to the spread of serious
infectious diseases, including anthrax, rabies and cholera.
India spent billions of dollars for 15 years to cure
rabies caused by the medicine, according to Qaneer, who added that during that
timeframe, the number of eagles in India decreased from 40 million to 11,000
because they were killed by Diclofenac.
According to the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature “there are 23 types of eagles around the world, of which
11 are endangered,” Qaneer explained.
Neophron percnopterus, fulvus, and Aegypius monachus
are the types of eagles which exist in Jordan, Qaneer said. He pointed out that
eagles are poisoned due to unintentional reasons such as insecticides,
colliding with power lines, and overgrazing, among others.
We are trying our best to ban the medicine in Jordan too, since there are many substitutes to it in the local market
Last month, the RSCN worked with the Irbid
Electricity Company on a project to insulate power lines in the Al-Ukaider area
to prevent the electrocution of the globally-endangered species of white
storks, and to reduce power fluctuations and unscheduled outages caused by
these birds.
The RSCN identified Al-Ukaider as a high-risk area
for bird electrocution, when perched on medium-voltage power lines. The
society’s studies also revealed that these birds build their nests and rest on
electricity poles, posing a threat to a variety of species, particularly the
white stork and birds of prey.
Qaneer said that
the RSCN recommended banning the use of Diclofenac and other harmful medicines
in Jordan and substituting them with medicines that have positive effects, such
as Meloxicam and Tolfenamic. He said that scientific studies are underway to
follow up on the impact of these medicines.
Reem Al-Rewis, a participant at the workshop who
works at the Ministry of Health’s Public Health and Environment Directorate,
said that “pharmacists should cooperate with the Veterinarian Syndicate to
encourage using beneficial substitutes to diclofenac.”
Zaidoun Hijazeen, project officer for Animal Health
at the Food and Drug Organization, said the One Health Concept should be
adopted, through disciplined use of the medicines.
Hijazin, who also participated in the workshop, said
that people who deal with medicines, birds, and animals “should be honest” in
carrying out their work.
Workshop participants suggested ways to dispose of
the bodies of dead animals, which included reducing the cost of transferring
dead animals to landfills, and building crematories to burn their bodies.
Additionally, they suggested drawing up a national
plan with the concerned authorities and decision-makers to ban the use of
Diclofenac, and to benefit from the international legislations in this regard.
Other recommendations included adding guiding instructions on medication
leaflets.
They also recommended holding regular conferences,
cooperating with universities, conducting tests on dead animals, and evaluating
the suggestions and recommendations economically and the possibility of
applying them.
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