Wildlife Act in KwaZulu-Natal has stepped up its conservation efforts over concerns that vultures are deliberately been poisoned for the use of muti.
The organisation has seen an increase in cases of vulture poisoning in the Northern Zululand region sparking concern that certain vulture species could possibly become extinct .
The conservation group held a wildlife conservation talk at the Hilton Arts Festival on the weekend to highlight the plight of the vultures.
Wildlife Act are first responders to many vulture killings
Megan Whittington, Director of Marketing, Media and Impact for Wildlife Act indicated that the organisation is often called out in the Zululand region when vultures are in distress or poisoned.
She said the tree nesting and the African white back vultures are the two species that are most affected by deliberate acts of poisoning in Zululand.
Whittington said every two weeks or so they will get alerts that vultures may be in trouble and require assistance.
“When we investigate, we will find that they die due to deliberate poisoning or other causes. How we identify deliberate poisoning is by finding the carcass of a cow or goat in an unusual area. The poison is packaged in a certain way that indicates a deliberate intervention [to poison] ,” said Whittington.
She was reluctant to go into great detail of the poisoning incidents because Wildlife Act did not want people with the intention of poisoning the endangered species to have knowledge of how they are poisoned.
“We have stepped up our conservation efforts because vultures have been overlooked historically, yet they are a vital species for the ecosystem. They are the custodians of nature because they eat the carcasses of dead animals that may otherwise cause the spread of disease including anthrax, rabies and botulism,” said Whittington.
The perilous effects of poisoning diminishes the vulture population
Whittington said the situation was dire and vultures have been listed as endangered on the IUCN (an international standard for endangered species).
According the passionate conservationist every poisoning incident has a bad effect on the vulture population.
Wildlife Act is actively pursuing every incident and creating awareness about vulture poisoning.
She suggested people take a little time to learn more about these custodians of nature (vultures).
“Everyone needs to come on board. Locals in certain areas [like Drakensberg, Hilton and Zululand] have been helpful. We look forward to working with people on vulture conservation,” added Whittington.
What do you believe should be done to protect vultures from poisoning?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 11.
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