A State-level workshop on Vulture Conservation that concluded at Sulthan Bathery on Thursday stressed the need for stringent measures to conserve the remaining population of the scavenger bird in the country.
The programme was organised by the Kerala Forest and Wildlife Department in association with Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology to discuss the results of the ongoing research and conservation programme of the endangered species and for drafting a comprehensive vulture conservation programme for south India.
Inaugurating the programme, District and Sessions judge V. Vijayakumar called upon the officials of the district administration, local bodies, and Forest Department to adopt legal measures against the distribution and use of Diclofenac and Ketoprofin, two drugs causing decimation of vultures, in Wayanad district, the only region in the State where the remaining population of vultures in south India was confined .
ADVERTISEMENT
Dr. Vijayakumar, who is also the chairman of the District Legal Services Authority, offered all legal assistance for the purpose.
C. Sasikumar, vulture specialist group member, IUCN, presented a paper on status of Indian vultures and its conservation threats.
C.K. Vishnudas, conservation biologist, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru; and R.L. Rathish, a veterinary expert; handled sessions.
ADVERTISEMENT
The workshop recommended a ban on Ketoprofin in Wayanad district, monitoring of waste dumping near the sanctuary, launching awareness programmes among school students near the sanctuary, and intensifying anti-fire campaign.
It decided to organise inter-State meetings to involve all sanctuaries and national parks in the vulture habitat, including WWS, Mudumalai, and Bandipur tiger reserves, to make the region a vulture safe zone.