National Review Meeting on Conservation Breeding of Vulture Species Held

• 25 Sep 2021

Why in News

• Recently the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) at Vulture Conservation Breeding Center (VCBC), Pinjore, Haryana along with Bombay Natural History Society organized a National Review Meeting on Conservation Breeding of Vulture Species in India.

Key Points

• According to a government spokesperson, Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore Coordinating Zoo and five other zoos - Nandankanan Biological Park, Bhubaneswar (Odisha), Van Vihar National Park and Zoo, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Sakkarbagh Zoo, Junagadh (Gujarat) will participate in the event, according to a government spokesperson, Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad (Telangana) and Assam State Zoo, Guwahati (Assam) are the participating zoos in the programme.
• An official spokesperson said that Rajabhatkhawa (West Bengal) and VCBC, Rani (Assam) centres which have been set up in collaboration with the respective state governments also participated in the meeting.
• Directors of all centres, veterinarians or biologists participated in this review meeting. During this a 'Manual for Vulture Keepers' developed by VCBC, Pinjore was released.
• The meeting recommended that the Action Plan for Conservation of Vultures in India (APVC), 2020-2025, coordinate the two additional species identified for conservation – the red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) and the Egyptian vulture (Neophron perconopterus). Can be taken under protection breeding.
• In the mid-nineties, the population of three gypsum vultures—white-backed, long-billed and slender-billed—had a sharp decline due to the use of diclofenac. The program was initiated after the CZA released the Action Plan for Vulture Conservation in 2006 to prevent their possible extinction.