Vulture Conservation and Reintroduction Programmes in India

Vultures are nature’s scavengers, playing an essential role in maintaining ecological balance by disposing of animal carcasses and preventing the spread of infectious diseases like anthrax and rabies. India is home to nine species of vultures, but their populations suffered a catastrophic collapse of over 99% starting in the mid-1990s. This decline was primarily driven by the veterinary use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in livestock, particularly Diclofenac, which causes kidney failure in vultures. In response, India launched targeted conservation plans, legal bans on toxic drugs, breeding programs, and reintroduction initiatives to bring back these critical avian scavengers.

Vulture Species Found in India and Their Status

India hosts nine distinct vulture species, which are categorized based on their resident or migratory behavior and their conservation status under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

Native and Migratory Vulture Classification

• Critically Endangered Resident Species:
  • White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis): Native resident; listed under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
  • Indian Vulture / Long-billed Vulture (Gyps indicus): Native resident nesting mainly on cliffs; listed under Schedule I.
  • Slender-billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris): Native resident found along the Himalayan foothills and Northeast India; listed under Schedule I.
  • Red-headed Vulture / King Vulture (Sarcogyps calvus): Distinctive bare red head; listed under Schedule I.
• Endangered Resident Species:
  • Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus): Smallest Indian vulture species; listed under Schedule I.
• Near Threatened and Least Concern Migratory/Resident Species:
  • Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis): High-altitude resident and winter migrant; categorized as Near Threatened.
  • Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus): Large winter migrant from Eurasia; categorized as Near Threatened.
  • Bearded Vulture / Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus): High-altitude resident in the Himalayas; categorized as Near Threatened.
  • Eurasian Griffon (Gyps fulvus): Winter migrant to northern and western India; categorized as Least Concern.

Causes of Vulture Decline: The NSAID Crisis

The principal cause of the rapid drop in vulture numbers was visceral gout caused by diclofenac poisoning. When vultures feed on livestock carcasses treated with diclofenac shortly before death, the drug causes acute renal failure and uric acid accumulation on internal organs, leading to death within days.

Toxic vs. Safe Veterinary Drugs

Action Plan for Vulture Conservation in India

The Government of India launched two dedicated policy documents to address population declines and establish protective networks.

National Conservation Action Plans

• Action Plan for Vulture Conservation (2006): Focused on securing a complete ban on veterinary diclofenac, establishing breeding centers, and identifying vulture safe zones.
• Action Plan for Vulture Conservation (2020–2025): Expanded interventions to ban additional toxic NSAIDs (aceclofenac, ketoprofen, nimesulide), establish automated carcass testing protocols, setup new breeding centers, and establish a National Vulture Database.

Conservation Breeding and Reintroduction Programs

To prevent extinction, ex-situ conservation facilities were established across India to breed vultures in captivity and release them into the wild.

Vulture Conservation Breeding Centres (VCBC)

• Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre (JCBC), Pinjore (Haryana): Established in 2001 as a Vulture Care Centre and upgraded in 2004. Jointly managed by the Haryana Forest Department and the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). It achieved the world’s first successful captive breeding of the White-rumped Vulture, Indian Vulture, and Slender-billed Vulture.
• Other Major Breeding Centres: Located at Rani (Assam), Rajabhatkhawa (West Bengal), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Junagadh (Gujarat), Hyderabad (Telangana), and Bhubaneswar (Odisha).

Soft Release and Reintroduction Initiatives

• Vulture Safe Zones (VSZ): Designated areas spanning a radius of at least 100 kilometers around breeding sites where veterinary NSAIDs toxic to vultures are completely eliminated from the food chain.
• Tagging and Monitoring: Released captive-bred vultures receive wing tags and satellite transmitters (PTTs) to track movement patterns, habitat preferences, and survival rates in the wild.
• Soft Release Projects: Pinjore (Haryana) and the Tiger Reserves of Madhya Pradesh (such as Panna National Park) serve as primary release sites for captive-reared White-rumped and Long-billed vultures.

Community Initiatives: Vulture Restaurants

A “Vulture Restaurant” is a designated feeding site where safe, diclofenac-free animal carcasses are regularly supplied to support wild populations.

Operational Impact

• Food Security: Provides uncontaminated carcasses to wild vultures during breeding seasons, increasing chick survival rates.
• Implementation Locations: Successfully operationalized in Ghadchiroli and Nashik (Maharashtra), Kangra (Himachal Pradesh), and parts of Punjab and Rajasthan.
• Community Engagement: Involves local villagers and cattle owners who inform forestry staff about dead livestock, earning monetary incentives for supplying safe carcasses.

Important Facts and Trivia for Exams

• India banned the veterinary use of Diclofenac in 2006 and limited human diclofenac formulations to single-use 3ml vials in 2015 to prevent illegal animal treatments.
• In July 2023, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare banned the manufacture, sale, and distribution of veterinary Aceclofenac and Ketoprofen.
• The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) serves as the primary technical non-governmental partner for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in operating vulture breeding centers.
• Meloxicam and Tolfenamic Acid are the two main veterinary NSAIDs officially validated as non-toxic to vultures.
• The Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is unique among vultures because its diet consists almost entirely (up to 80–90%) of bone marrow.
• Panna National Park in Madhya Pradesh is known for its high natural wild vulture population and successful habitat conservation measures.
• Vulture Awareness Day is observed internationally on the first Saturday of September each year.
• Tamil Nadu established a State-Level Committee for Vulture Conservation (SLCVC) to monitor local populations and enforce NSAID bans around the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.