In order to provide safe food for critically endangered vultures, Pakistan has opened a “vulture restaurant.”
After 95% of the vulture populations in India, Nepal and Pakistan were lost due to poisoning by the drug Diclofenac, the idea of “vulture restaurants” have been catching on.
Vulture restaurants serve up the carcasses of cattle that have been monitored by a veterinarian prior to death, to confirm the animals have not been treated with Diclofenac.
Following on the success of Nepal’s vulture restaurants, Dhartee Development Society, in collaboration with the UNDP Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme has opened a vulture restaurant in Pakistan.
In Nepal, a vulture restaurant in the Nawalparasi district has contributed to the increase in the nesting pairs of vultures, to the cautious delight of conservationists. According to Bird Conservation Nepal’s Dev Ghimire:
The ‘restaurant’ has definitely contributed to this increase. Nesting is declining in other areas where there are no such facilities. But here they are getting safe food which is why the numbers have gone up.
Ghimire says that additional vulture restaurants are planned in three districts, west from Nawalparasi, which also have populations of vultures.
Please visit Vulture Rescue for additional information.
Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/magical-world/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
About Rhishja Cota-Larson
This is really funny, why do pakistan needs to OPEN a vulture restaurants. With so many people dying of hunger and terrorist attacks by taliban, vultures must be already having a feast. Whats the need to open it, it could be another excuse of corrupt politicians to suck money from already bankrupt country.