As a group, vultures are the most threatened birds in the world - of the 23 species of vultures in the world, over 70 percent of them have an unfavourable conservation status, meaning that theyre at risk of going extinct. Adding this to their ecologically important role increases the importance of conserving them. Our International Vulture Programme works to conserve these amazing birds through a series of projects in southern Africa and south Asia.

Poisoning is the biggest threat facing vulture populations in Africa, and in particular this threat has grown rapidly with the increasing slaughter of elephants by poachers. Poisoning associated with ivory poaching now accounts for one third of all vulture poisonings since 1970 and is currently the biggest cause of vulture mortality. Our research has shown that if poisoning incidents continue to occur at current rates, there will be local extinctions within 50-60 years.

At the Trust, and with our partner organisations, we have developed a Poison Response Kit to target this threat. Our research has shown that where field staff are trained and equipped to neutralise poisoned carcasses and reduce poison-related mortalities, the probability of local populations going extinct is reduced significantly. We have developed a project with partners at the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the University of Reading to provide Poison Response Kits and a training programme to field staff in high-risk areas in southern and south-eastern Africa. This work is extremely important as it trains and equips field staff to deal with poisoning events when they occur.

YOU can help!

Each poison response kit costs £300 and after a poisoning incident each kit needs to be replenished at a cost of £180. You can help us raise the funds needed to provide these kits that could save thousands of vultures and other wildlife from an unnecessary death due to poison. We are so grateful for any support towards our vital conservation work, especially following COVID-19 as we were not able to open to the public and have now restricted our visitor numbers, which has significantly impacted our income.

Poison response kits contain a range of equipment and first aid materials and are designed to reduce the impacts of poisoned carcasses on wildlife. Often, poisons are so toxic that vultures can die with food still in their mouths. This means that work must take place as soon as possible to prevent further deaths. With a quick response and the effective use of Poison Response Kits, hundreds of animals can be saved from death by poisoning.

Our other projects conserving vultures

In south Asia , more than 99.9 percent of vultures died as a result of the veterinary drug diclofenac. In collaboration with WWF-Pakistan, we have a breeding centre in Pakistan that is currently home to a colony of 25 Asian White-backed Vultures. In the best breeding year yet, our White-backed Vulture colony has fledged three new chicks this year! In addition, this project protects wild breeding populations of White-backed Vultures, Long-billed Vultures, Red-headed Vultures and Egyptian Vultures in a Vulture Safe Zone in Sindh Province, Pakistan and a new potential Vulture Safe Zone in northern Pakistan.

We also run vital research projects with Critically Endangered vultures in southern Africa. Our philosophy is one of evidence-based conservation management, and it is extremely important that we monitor populations and try to increase our knowledge about their behaviour so we can effectively conserve them. Our Savanna Vulture Project researches the biology and ecology of four tree-nesting vulture species: White-backed Vultures, White-headed Vultures, Lappet-faced Vultures and Hooded Vultures.

A focal species is the Hooded Vulture; we are investigating in more depth the breeding ecology and habitat requirements of this species. In southern Africa it is poorly understood because, in contrast to Hooded Vultures in West Africa, which are often commensal with humans and easily observed, the Hooded Vulture in southern Africa is elusive and secretive in its breeding habits. This project aims to characterise nest sites of Hooded Vultures by looking at surrounding vegetation types and landscape features, determine breeding success and estimate population size.