Ban of harmful NSAIDs sought for vulture conservation

As a part of Wildlife Week, 2017 celebration the Wildlife Circle of Gujarat Forest Department has organized a symposium on Vulture Conservation on 07/10/2017 in Gandhinagar at GEER Foundation auditorium. People from all parts of Gujarat who have been directly or indirectly associating with the vulture conservation initiatives were invited to the symposium. About 44 representatives from various NGOs working in the field of vulture conservation have participated, about 16 researchers, 12 veterinary doctors, about 20 nature enthusiast and wildlife lover, 6 renowned scientists, representatives from state level Panjrapole management body, about 50 government officers from different departments including forest department and 2 representatives from Parsi Panchayat have participated in the symposium.

In the inaugural session, the Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife Circle, Gandhinagar had given an welcome speech and briefed about the background and objective of the symposium. Among other distinguish guests, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Head of the Forest Force (PCCF-HoFF) in his inaugural speech has shared the glimps of his childhood memories with vulture and an insight of the social beliefs regarding vulture. While comparing his younger days with today’s scenario, he shared his deep concern regarding vulture conservation and conviction towards strengthening the efforts. The Principal Chielf Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden (PCCF-CWW) in his inaugural speech conveyed his greetings to the gathering and explained the perspective of celebrating Wildlife Week in Gujarat following its rich biodiversity. He also shared his concerns towards the decline in population of critically endangered species like vulture.

After the inaugural session, the gathering was addressed by Dr.Chris Bowden, who is the head of the vulture conservation group of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and vulture program head of RSPB (Royal Society for Protection of Birds), London. In his presentation, he explained in details about the global scenario of vulture conservation with special reference to the status of vulture in Indian subcontinents. He strongly advocates the ban of harmful NSAIDs (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ketoprofen, aceclofenac and nimosulide from the system of drug distribution to ensure the conservation of last remaining vultures.


Dr. Vibhu Prakash, who was another expert speaker and Vulture breeding program head of BNHS (Bombay Natural History Scoiety) and a leading scientist working on vulture conservation since 1990 has explained the breeding program and its current status to the gathering. The success story of breeding in Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre (JCBC) located in Pinjore, Haryana of all three critically endangered Gyps specis of vulture namely White rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis), Indian vulture (Gyps indicus) and Slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) was shared with the participants.
The most critical event of the symposium was the brainstorming session where all the participants including scientists, researchers and wildlife enthusiasts along with the forest department staff were divided into five different groups. The groups were came up with important recommendation for the future vulture conservation practices and shared and discussed between all the groups.

Following the group discussion, the symposium was concluded with a panel discussion. The panal discussion was presided by renowned wildlife lover, retired IFS officer and presently the member of National Wildlife Board of India Mr. H. S. Singh. Other panelists were Dr. Vibhu Prakash (BNHS), Mr. R. D. Kamboj (Director, GEER Foundation), Mr. S. Murlidharan (Senior Scientist, SACON), Dr. Chris Bowden (Head of Vulture conservation program, IUCN and RSPB) and Dr. A. J. Kacchipatel (Director, Animal Husbandry). Chief Conservator of Forests, Wildlife Circle, Gandhinagar Mr. Mahesh Singh acted as the moderator in the discussion and facilitated the interaction between the penalists and the participants on various critical issues.

The throughout activities of the day will be documented and the recommendations came out from the symposium will be informed to the State Wildlife Board in the form of detailed report. On the basis of the recommendation report, future decisions will be made regarding vulture conservation.