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To facilitate and expedite a ban on diclofenac use in livestock, a survey was initiated by the RSPB to identify a NSAID, of relatively low toxicity to vultures, which could be used in its place. A questionnaire on the use of NSAIDs by vets at zoos and wildlife centres identified meloxicam as the potential alternative to diclofenac. Studies were subsequently conducted in South Africa to establish the tolerance of the AWBV to meloxicam. A four-phased study approach was used. The tolerance of meloxicam was initially titrated in 24 captive, non-releasable AWBV under experimental housing conditions using a sequential 3-phased, unbalanced, two-armed, parallel study design.

During phases I through III 8 vultures each were randomly allocated to meloxicam (n=5) and water treated groups (n=3). A single dose of meloxicam was administered orally by gavage and increased step-wise, starting at 0.5 mg/kg (recommended clinical dose) to 1 mg/kg and 2 mg/kg during each phase, respectively. The highest dose was based on the worst-case scenario of a bird being exposed to the maximum possible residues present in meat or offal. In residue analysis this maximum was found to be in the liver of calves, slaughtered 8 hours after a 5 day treatment course (at 0.7 mg/kg o.i.d. i.m.) and equates to a maximum exposure in vultures of 8.54 mg meloxicam per kg meal or a potential dose of 1.55 - 1.89 mg/kg for an average sized AWBV.

No signs of toxicity were observed in any vultures treated with meloxicam at all dose levels during phases I to III. The results were subsequently confirmed in Phase IV in 28 wild-caught and 14 non-releasable birds, with no history of exposure to NSAIDs, at the highest dose of 2 mg/kg. All vultures were monitored frequently for clinical signs of toxicity and blood was collected at various intervals to determine the haematological profiles, thromboxane, uric acid and meloxicam concentrations. Serum uric acid levels were within the range of...