In the 1990s, Indian farmers started using a cheap painkiller for cattle, which tragically led to a massive decline in the vulture population—down from 50 million to just a few thousand. These vultures were crucial for cleaning up animal carcasses and preventing the spread of deadly diseases. With their numbers dwindling, carcasses began to rot, leading to the proliferation of disease-carrying feral dogs and contaminated water sources. This ecological disaster has been linked to around 500,000 ...