Scientists warn that without the birds, human beings risk contracting zoonotic diseases such as rabies, Middle East Respiratory Sydrome Coronavirus (MERS-COV), anthrax and a host of other diseases that are transferable to humans by animals.

Dr Beckie Garbett, Vulture Conservation Manager at Birdlife International, says that in absence of vultures, populations of other less desirable scavenging species such as rats and feral dogs could rise, which could have negative impacts on human health.

By consuming animal carcasses that would otherwise be left to rot and spread diseases, vultures keep the number of mammal scavengers down and prevent the spread of life-threatening diseases, she says.

A study counting the cost of vulture decline — an appraisal of the human health and other benefits of vultures in India published in 2008 found out that the rabies outbreak had a correlation to dramatic deaths of vultures in the country.

The speed with which vultures clean up animal carcasses prevents the spread of diseases.