NEW DELHI: New Delhi: With vultures vanishing from nearly 72% of their historically known nesting sites across India over the years, Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Sunday pitched for conservation of the nature’s most efficient scavengers and called for continued efforts to create Vulture Safe Zones.He said vulture-safe veterinary practices, safe food availability and technical capacity-building were needed to aid species recovery in the wild.Speaking at an International Vulture Awareness Day 2026 event in Panchkula, Haryana, Yadav urged veterinary professionals, livestock owners, local administrations and communities to support conservation and safe carcass-management practices.Vultures play a vital role in keeping ecosystems clean by feeding on decaying carcasses. Unlike predators, they rarely kill their own prey. Instead, they are scavengers that feed on carrion left behind by other animals. By removing dead animal matter, vultures help keep the environment clean and significantly reduce the risk of disease spreading.Vulture populations have fallen sharply since the 1990s, mainly because of disruption to their food chain and veterinary use of diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug commonly administered to livestock. Research found vultures feeding on carcasses of treated livestock suffered kidney failure and died.India has nine vulture species: white-rumped, long-billed, slender-billed, red-headed, Egyptian, Himalayan griffon, Eurasian griffon, cinereous and bearded vultures. They are found from the Himalayan range to Kerala.
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A pan-India assessment by Wildlife Institute of India scientists last year recorded only 120 active historical nesting sites among 425 documented in literature across 25 states. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan accounted for about 63% of all vulture nests. Researchers also identified 93 new nesting locations, taking the total to 213, including 103 in protected areas.Conservation breeding of vultures is under way at centres in Pinjore, Haryana; Rajabha Khawa, West Bengal; and Rani, Assam.During 2025–26, Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre in Pinjore housed 356 vultures, bred 35 chicks and released or contributed 87 birds for reintroduction, environment ministry said. It transferred 90 birds to other conservation-breeding institutions and trained 1,222 participants from 22 institutions.The centre, run jointly by Haryana Forest Department and Bombay Natural History Society, breeds white-rumped, long-billed and slender-billed vultures.
