The Story
“The Hidden Value of Vultures”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2024/09/14/vultures-human-health-economic-benefits/
by Ian Rose
Washington Post, September 14, 2024
The Pitch
Vultures are the underappreciated essential workers of the bird world. By cleaning up carcasses of both wild animals and livestock, they protect ecosystems and humans from the spread of diseases including botulism and anthrax. They are the ultimate specialized scavengers, with adaptations like extra-strong stomach acid that kills pathogens and their trademark featherless heads, allowing them to dig into meat cleanly and safely. A 2022 study even showed how vultures help mitigate millions of tons of greenhouse gas worldwide.
But their ecosystem and public health services often aren’t enough to overcome their reputation and association with death and disease. Vultures are still actively poisoned in many places in the world. Here in the United States, they are being increasingly scapegoated, with limited evidence, as cattle and sheep predators. A bill is working its way through Congress to let ranchers kill black vultures with no limit, something that now requires permits and the intervention of Department of Agriculture staff.
It’s more important than ever to quantify what vultures do for us and for wild ecosystems. A new study (attached below) was published last month in the journal Environment, Development and Sustainability. They found a lifetime economic value of up to $4,500 per vulture.
I have been in touch with one of the two authors of the paper, Dr. Saudamini Das, who provided the PDF of the paper and is anxious to talk about her work. I have previously written about vultures and climate change for Scientific American, and their cultural and anthropological importance for JSTOR Daily. I have good relationships with vulture researchers to provide additional quotes. To me, the story here is not only the value of a vulture, but an argument for a less aesthetically-driven view of conservation, where even a species that doesn’t emotionally connect with us the way large mammals or other birds do can have its contributions appreciated and protected.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Ian Rose