In a first, captive-bred vultures to be released in Ahmedabad
AHMEDABAD/MAHUVA: Vulture conservation in Gujarat has got a major boost with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) selecting Mahuva and Ahmedabad among the six provisional vultures' safe zones (VSZ) in India. Within three years, vultures successfully bred in captivity under the BNHS's Save Asia's Vultures from Extinction (SAVE) programme will be released in their natural environments in Mahuva.
The move comes as a recognition of sorts for years of hard work put in by NGOs. They launched awareness campaigns in this coastal town against the use of diclofenac, the Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory (NSAID) which is the main cause of sharp decline in vulture population.
"The aim of developing VSZs is to establish targeted awareness activities surrounding 150 km radius of vultures' colonies so that no diclofenac or the veterinary toxic drugs are found in cattle carcasses, the main food of vultures. We noticed that considerable work has been done at Mahuva in Bhavnagar and Ahmedabad in this direction," Dr Vibhu Prakash, deputy director, BNHS told TOI.
The society will concentrate on Saurashtra and central Gujarat first as these regions have good vulture population. "Mahuva is being considered as the first such site in the country to release captive-bred vultures in the wild within the next three years,'' said Prakash, who heads the vulture breeding programme in India.
Prakash said the vultures are in peril, particularly the Gyps species like Oriental White-backed Vulture, Longbilled Vulture and Slender-billed Vulture. Gujarat is particularly important for vultures due to presence of animal shelters running in the state.
"These sites take in injured and abandoned cattle which are placed out for vultures to feed upon once they die. They have been quick to stop the use of diclofenac and instead use meloxicam,'' said Janki Teli, Vulture Advocacy Officer, BNHS.
Of the four other provisional VSZs, two are in Uttar Pradesh, while Assam and Jharkhandhave got one each.
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