After some year’s absence, the Egyptian Vulture bred again this Spring-Summer in Malaga Province – and this is a tribute to the hard work and investment of the Junta de Andalucia, who is tackling the poisoning threat in a decisive way.
For several years now the Junta de Andalucia deploys a comprehensive anti-poisoning plan. Since 2010 part of this focus on the Egyptian Vulture breeding territories and foraging areas, in a tailor-made operation that includes patrolling of critical sites by specialized units with poison-detecting dogs. These patrols have a dual enforcement-preventive scope, and they include a lot of engagement and contact with local farmers, landowners and game wardens, who become then involved in the effort.
As a direct result, the decline of the Egyptian Vulture has stopped in Andalucia – also a poignant reminder that poison is really a major threat to vultures in general and the Egyptian vulture in particular: when it is controlled, vulture species react well! Further good news came this year when one pair of Egyptian vultures established itself and bred successfully in Malaga province, after going locally extinct 3 years ago. The photos below show the happy moment when Junta staff, local farmers and hunters gathered to ring the chick (All photos by Estrategia Andaluza de Veneno).
The VCF would like to acknowledge the good work that Junta de Andalucía, and other partners, are doing to control poison in the region.
