Vultures under threat
The birds died after feeding on sheep carcasses laced with carbofuran, a powerful insecticide.
CONSERVATION bodies and bird lovers are enraged at the light sentence of a R10 000 fine imposed recently on the person who had been responsible for the death of 46 Cape vultures in the Eastern Cape last year.
The birds died after feeding on sheep carcasses laced with carbofuran, a powerful insecticide.
Also known as the Cape Griffon, these vultures occur in southern Africa and are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
A vulture conservation group, Vulpro, recently said that there were only 3 700 Cape vultures left globally.
Dr Gerhard Verdoorn, Deputy President of the SA Hunters and Game Conservation Association (SAHGCA) said poisoning wildlife does not solve any problem even if it is aimed at damage-causing animals.
Verdoorn, who is also involved with the Griffon Poison Information Centre, is working closely with the National Predation Management Forum to devise strategies and protocols for effective and environmentally compatible predation management.
The Department of Environmental Affairs has also embarked on a biodiversity management plan for bearded vultures in particular.
Public’s help needed
Conservation of wildlife is a priority for SAHGCA and its members.
The Association’s Stormberg Branch in Queenstown is collecting data of Cape Vulture sightings in the area under the auspices of Kate Webster, a farmer-conservationist in the area.
SAHGCA’s Lammergeier Branch in the Lady Grey area focuses its conservation activities on protecting the Bearded Vulture (Lammergeier).
South Africa has nine vulture species of which seven are listed in the Red Data Book of Birds of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.
The Egyptian Vulture is one of only two bird species listed as regionally extinct in South Africa and the Bearded Vulture, whose range is restricted to the Maluti-Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa and Lesotho is classified as endangered with numbers declining continuously.
Lizanne Nel, Manager: Conservation at SAHGCA, has called on all South Africans to support the conservation of vultures and report any sightings of injured vultures to relevant organisations.
For More information on vultures visit www.vulpro.com; or contact Kate Webster on 082 7025942 (Eastern Cape) or the Griffon Poison Information Centre on nesher@tiscali.co.za
Contact: SA Hunters and Game Conservation Association www.sahunt.co.za, Lizanne Nel on lizanne@sahunt.co.za or magda@sahunt.co.za
