What are Vulture Safe Zones?

Environment Ministry of India intends to create vulture safe zones spanning across thousands of kilometers where these birds in the captivity would be released.

From 2014 onwards, they would be released. The birds will be having colour banding so that they can be located once air bound. He discussed about three Vulture Safe Zones as reported in The Hindu:

The zone between Uttarakhand to Nepal, which spans from Corbett to Katriya Ghat, a Tarai belt, covering 30,000 sq kms, will be earmarked as ‘Vulture Safe’ zone. The species of slender-billed vulture and white-backed vulture are found in this area, which is a marshy grassland.

The belt between Dibrugarh (Assam) to North Lakhimpur (Arunachal Pradesh) will also be conserved as a vulture safe zone where slender-billed and white-backed species of vultures are found.

The third zone would be in central India, covering Chhattisgarh, where white-backed and long-billed vultures are found.

Vultures suffer from kidney failure when they eat the carcass of animal that has been administered veterinary diclofenac.

Dr. Rehmani said that efforts would be made to ensure that at least use of diclofenac should be banned in the zones announced as vulture safe zones.