Great Britain Protecting vultures can save lives

A great deal is invested in saving tigers and pandas. However, two researchers have come to the conclusion that it could be better for humanity to conserve other species - such as vultures.

Protecting vultures can also save many human lives. This is the conclusion reached by two environmental economists in a study published in the journal "American Economic Review". They looked at mortality figures in India between 2000 and 2005 and came to the conclusion that when vultures almost completely disappeared there, more than 100,000 additional people died each year.

Anant Sudarshan from the University of Warwick in the UK and Eyal Frank from the University of Chicago in the USA attribute the additional deaths to the animal carcasses lying around. Because the vultures were no longer fulfilling their function in the ecosystem, other scavengers, which are more likely to make people ill, multiplied. In addition, many farmers disposed of the animal carcasses in rivers and lakes, which polluted the drinking water.

In their study, the two authors remind us that we are currently experiencing a mass extinction of unprecedented proportions. "Since it is unfortunately impossible to prevent every extinction, conservation policy must solve a crucial target problem: Which of the many endangered species should we protect or reintroduce?" they ask.

A lot of money is currently being spent on protecting particularly cute or particularly magnificent animals, adds Sudarshan in the dpa interview. These include panda bears and tigers. "We are not saying that this is bad, but we want to point out that the well-being of humans is interrelated with that of other species." There are some key species in the ecosystem that are particularly central to human health and safety.

SDA