Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav inaugurated a landmark National Workshop on Vulture Conservation in Panchkula, Haryana on Sunday, bringing together top ornithologists, forest conservators, and veterinary toxicologists from across the nation.
The specialized scientific conclave focused on evaluating the progress of the National Action Plan for Vulture Conservation (2020–2025) and formulating standardized protocols for scaling captive breeding releases into secure wild habitats. Delegates reviewed the status of critically endangered resident species, including the Oriental white-backed vulture, long-billed vulture, and slender-billed vulture, whose populations were decimated by toxic veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs over past decades.
In his inaugural address, Yadav commended the pioneering conservation work executed by the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre in Pinjore, which has successfully reared and soft-released dozens of tagged birds into the wild with high post-release survival rates. He reiterated that vultures perform irreplaceable ecological sanitization functions by swiftly consuming livestock carcasses, preventing deadly pathogen proliferation in rural landscapes.
The minister announced stringent enforcement directives prohibiting the veterinary usage of banned toxic drugs like diclofenac, aceclofenac, and ketoprofen, directing state drug controllers to conduct surprise raids on rural veterinary pharmacies. The ministry also approved the establishment of four additional designated Vulture Safe Zones across central and western India.
Participating wildlife scientists emphasized the urgent necessity of satellite transmitter telemetry tracking to monitor the foraging ranges and mortality factors of released raptors. The workshop concluded with the formulation of a unified nationwide carcass-testing protocol to guarantee poison-free feeding corridors for wild vulture colonies.
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Sources:
https://school.edusaint.in/news/school-assembly-news-headlines-7-september-2026