Why in news?
- Vultures are reported to help mitigate the risk of disease spill overs and occurences of Pandemics.
Vultures
- What are they?:
- Vultures are medium- to large-sized birds of prey.
- They are known for eating carrion (the bodies of dead animals).
- They act an important function as nature’s garbage collectors and help to keep the environment clean of waste.
- Protected Status:
- CITES: Appendix II
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972:Schedule I
- Conservation Initiatives:
- National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has approved an Action Plan for Vulture Conservation 2020-2025. Key highlights of the plan include,
- Vulture Conservation Centre
- Vulture Safe zone
- Toxic Drugs: A system to automatically remove a drug from veterinary use if it is found to be toxic to vultures with the help of the Drugs Controller General of India.
- Ramadevarabetta Vulture Sanctuary in Karnataka is India’s first and only dedicated vulture sanctuary.
- National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has approved an Action Plan for Vulture Conservation 2020-2025. Key highlights of the plan include,
- Threats Faced by Vultures
- Use of Diclofenac: A veterinary nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) in 2004 found in the carcass of cattle the vultures feed on.
- Lack of Nesting Trees
- Electrocution by power lines
- Food Dearth and Contaminated Food