Study
Counting the cost of vulture decline — an appraisal of the human health and other benefits of vultures in India
Markandya, Anil; Taylor, Tim; Longo, Alberto; Murty, M. N.; Murty, S.; Dhavala, K.
Ecological Economics, 2008
Combines carcass availability, feral dog population estimates and human rabies data across the period of vulture decline in India, and appraises the health and disposal costs attributable to the loss of vulture scavenging.
- Studied in
- Gyps, Canis familiaris
- Sample size
- national-scale time series of carcass disposal, dog populations and rabies data
The decline of vultures coincided with increases in carcasses left undisposed and in feral dog numbers, with substantial associated public-health costs attributed to rabies exposure.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Vultures provided a large and previously uncosted carcass-disposal service, and its loss carried measurable human costs.
How NatureHQ reads it
Included because it makes a service visible by its failure, and because it should be read with its uncertainty intact. This is an economic appraisal built on national statistics, not a controlled study, and attributing a share of rabies mortality to vulture loss involves assumptions that are stated rather than tested. The direction of the effect is well supported; the size of it is an estimate.
- Correlational at national scale, with several social and economic changes occurring over the same period.
- Cost attribution depends on modelling assumptions that materially affect the total.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Elsevier journalsPublished in an Elsevier journal.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.04.020
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.