The National Board for Wildlife approved an action plan for vultures recently
Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will get a vulture conservation and breeding centre each, according to the Action Plan for Vulture Conservation 2020-2025.
The plan has also suggested that new veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) be tested on vultures before their commercial release. NSAIDS often poisons cattle whose carcasses the birds pray on.
The action plan was approved by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) October 5, 2020, its minutes showed. An earlier one was formulated in 2006 for three years.
The new plan has laid out strategies and actions to stem the decline in vulture population, especially of the three Gyps species:
This would be done through both ex-situ and in-situ conservation.
It has also mooted:
* 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.
* Conservation breeding of red-Headed vultures and Egyptian vultures and the establishment at least one vulture-safe zone in each state for the conservation of the remnant populations in that state.
* Establishment of four rescue centres, in Pinjore (Haryana), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Guwahati (Assam) and Hyderabad (Telangana). There are currently no dedicated rescue centres for treating vultures.
* Coordinated nation-wide vulture counting, involving forest departments, the Bombay Natural History Society, research institutes, non-profits and members of the public. This would be for getting a more accurate estimate of the size of vulture populations in the country.
* A database on emerging threats to vulture conservation, including collision and electrocution, unintentional poisoning, etc.
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