By consuming carcasses, preventing the transmission of illness, and maintaining a healthy environment, vultures play a significant part in the ecology. They are considered obligate scavengers with a very minimal likelihood of spreading disease. The number of vultures has drastically decreased in India since the middle of the 1990s, with three resident Gyps species (White-rumped vulture, Long-billed vulture, and Slender-billed vulture) experiencing a loss of over 97%. Diclofenac was the main culprit to decline in the population of vultures. Diclofenac is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory Drug (NSAID) that reduces inflammation and pain in a few different medical diseases. Diclofenac was responsible for kidney failure and visceral gout. The Indian government outlawed the administration of diclofenac in veterinary medicine in May 2006. Unfortunately, the restriction was not extended far enough, and sick animals were treated with human diclofenac. One problem is that alternative medications like meloxicam, which have been examined for vulture safety, are substantially more expensive than the human equivalent of diclofenac.