Haryana: Union Minister Bhupender Yadav calls for more vulture safe zones (Ld)

Pinjore (Haryana): Calling for more vulture safe zones, the International Vulture Awareness Day 2026 was celebrated on Sunday with Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav inaugurating a national-level workshop on the theme "From Crisis to Recovery -- Conserving India's Vultures".

The event was organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), the Haryana Forest and Wildlife Department, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre (JCBC) in Pinjore in Panchkula district in Haryana.

It brought together senior forest officials, scientists, veterinarians, zoo professionals, conservation practitioners and other stakeholders to strengthen collaborative efforts for vulture conservation in India.

Addressing the gathering, Union Minister Yadav highlighted that the Central government's environment conservation approach, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is based on a holistic ecosystem-oriented conservation model and not limited to a particular species.

The Union Minister said the approach is evident in various species conservation initiatives whether it is big cats, the sloth bear, the great Indian bustard, dolphins, the gharial, the wild water buffalo or the vultures.

Talking about vultures, he told how India, which is home to a diverse community resident and migratory vultures -- the white-rumped, long-billed, slender-billed, red-headed, Egyptian, Himalayan griffon, Eurasian griffon, cinereous and the bearded vultures -- is making efforts towards their successful conservation.

Bhupender Yadav highlighted the vital ecological role of vultures as highly efficient scavengers and described them as nature's own cleaning system.

By rapidly consuming animal carcasses, vultures facilitate nutrient recycling and help maintain ecological balance.

He said that the world is facing challenges like climate change, human-animal conflict and a sharp decline was observed in Indian vulture population since 1990s mainly due to disruption in their food chain and use of pain killers for animals that were consumed by the vultures.

The Union Minister emphasised on coordinated efforts as a 'whole-of-government' and 'whole-of-society' approach in policy making for vulture conservation.

He called for continued efforts to create vulture safe zones through vulture-safe veterinary practices, ensuring safe food availability and technical capacity building to aid species recovery in the wild.

The Union Minister also appealed to veterinary professionals, livestock owners, local administrations and communities to actively contribute to vulture conservation and promote safe carcass-management practices.

Earlier, Bhupender Yadav started the day with a visit to the Jatayu and Sparrow Conservation Breeding Centre here, where he visited the facility, reviewed a presentation on the centre and interacted with officials involved in vulture conservation.

The centre, a collaborative initiative of the state Forest Department and the BNHS, has emerged as an important centre for conservation breeding of the white-rumped, long-billed and slender-billed vultures.

During 2025-26, the centre housed 356 vultures and successfully bred 35 chicks.

It also released or contributed 87 vultures for reintroduction, transferred 90 birds to other conservation-breeding institutions, and trained 1,222 participants from 22 institutions, thereby strengthening technical capacity for vulture conservation.

At the inaugural session, a coffee table book – "Story of Jatayu: Saving India's Vulture" -- was released.

It chronicles India's remarkable vulture conservation story from a declining Vulture population to the successful breeding conservation programme through the establishment of the JCBC Pinjore.

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