Why in the News?
The Tamil Nadu Forest Department informed the Madras High Court that the process of establishing Vulture Safe Zones (VSZs) has begun in the State to protect critically endangered vulture species from toxic veterinary drugs.
Background of the Case
- Submission made before a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava
- Status report filed in response to a Public Interest Litigation
- PIL filed by K Surya Kumar
- Aim is to prevent mass mortality and near extinction of vultures
What are Vulture Safe Zones (VSZs)?
- Geographically defined areas
- Use of toxic veterinary NSAIDs strictly prohibited
- Ensure availability of safe carcasses for vultures
- Promote recovery of vulture populations
- Part of India’s vulture conservation strategy
Major Threat Addressed
- Diclofenac and other NSAIDs
- Used to treat cattle
- Residues remain in carcasses
- Cause kidney failure in vultures
- Primary reason for over 95 percent decline in vulture population in India since the 1990s
Prelims Pointers
- Vulture Safe Zones target NSAID free landscapes
- Diclofenac is the most lethal drug for vultures
- First VSZ in Tamil Nadu proposed in Moyar River Valley
- Monitoring radius is 100 km
- Based on Vision Document for Vulture Conservation 2025 to 2030
- Vultures are protected under Wildlife Protection Act 1972
| [2012] Vultures which used to be very common in Indian countryside some years ago are rarely seen nowadays. This is attributed to:
(a) the destruction of their nesting sites by new invasive species (b) a drug used by cattle owners for treating their diseased cattle (c) scarcity of food available to them (d) a widespread, persistent and fatal disease among them |
