The Hindu : National : U.K. Royal Society to the aid of vultures

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Sunday, Jul 04, 2004

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National

U.K. Royal Society to the aid of vultures

By Pratim Ranjan Bose

KOLKATA, JULY 3. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the United Kingdom, has agreed to fund vulture conservation breeding projects in India. The projects which include setting up of three captive conservation breeding centres in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal, will be implemented through the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).

While specific cases on the incidence of the fatal `drooping neck syndrome' were reported only from India and Pakistan, RSPB is exploring a possible outbreak of the ``disease,'' supposedly caused by consumption of diclofenac through carcass, in other Asian countries. BNHS and Perigrine Fund have already reported over 90 per cent fall in population of common vulture species in the two countries.

Vibhu Prakash, principal scientist of BNHS, said the project would bring up a population of at least 100 vultures of the three most endangered species at each of these three centres in a period of 15 years. The endangered species include white-backed, long-billed and slender-billed gyps vultures, which were commonly seen a decade ago.

BNHS has already commenced the captive breeding centre at Pinjore which will be expanded through the RSPB funding. For the other two proposed centres, things are moving fast in West Bengal. The State Government has promised to identify land for the project in the forest zone of North Bengal shortly. ``Once the formalities are taken care of we will try to set up the centre.''

The proposed project at Himachal Pradesh, though conceived early, was yet to be implemented as BNHS was still awaiting the State's approval. ``With RSPB committed long-term funding for all three conservation breeding centres, we only require five acres for setting up facilities and the required approvals,'' Dr. Prakash told The Hindu.

On the reasons behind the killer disease which is causing fast erosion of the vulture population in the country, he said that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had called a high level meeting.

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