Madhya Pradesh government will fund the conservation breeding of the endangered species of vultures.
The Conservation Breeding Centre is located just on the outskirts of Bhopal
Three months after the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) announce it willl release 500 vultures into the wild – and ruffled a lot of feathers in the conservation sector – 20 white-rumped vultures are now being sent from Haryana to Madhya Pradesh.
“A total of 20 white-rumped vultures are being sent on Friday, June 23, from Pinjore in Haryana to Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. They are going to be there for conservation breeding purpose,” Kishor Rithe, Secretary, BNHS, told News9 Plus.
The Conservation Breeding Centre is located just on the outskirts of Bhopal.
J S Chauhan, Madhya Pradesh’s Principal Chief Wildlife Warden (PCCF), told News9 Plus, “The Madhya Pradesh government would be bearing all the expenditure of this conservation centre.”
Earlier in April, as reported by News9 Plus, after a 20-year-long conservation drive, the BNHS had announced the release of almost 500 birds into the wild over the next 12 months.
Rithe answered in negative when asked if BNHS has plans to shift more vultures to any other place.
India’s oldest conservation NGO, set up in 1883, BNHS has eight facilities across India that carry out conservation breeding of the 750-odd vultures of four species – White-rumped vultures, Long-billed vultures, Oriental white-backed vulture and Slender billed vulture – across these centres.
The decision had then ruffled feathers at the premier conservation body as a series of resignations followed since mid-March and early April. The members who had quit had linked it to a “terrible fund crunch” and staff removal. Even as BNHS officials conceded funds were an issue, they maintained the decision to release the birds was not prompted by it.
(This story first appeared on news9live.com on Jun 23, 2023 and can be read here.)
