What is Vulture restaurantand why it is significant?
By iastoppers.com
Jharkhand has established a 'Vulture restaurant' or Giddha Bhojanalaya in Koderma district to save declining vulture numbers, caused by drug use in livestock
Vulture restaurant is a part of an effort to boost the dwindling vulture population by demarcation of feeding site with bamboo fencing to prevent other animals from accessing carcasses
White-backed vulture population had declined by over 99% in the India, mainly due to diclofenac use, leading to its ban in veterinary practice since 2006
Diclofenac was earlier used in veterinary practice that led to the near disappearance of vultures in India mainly by causing kidney failure in birds
While veterinary diclofenac manufacture is banned, human-use diclofenac is still available, posing a continued threat to vulture population
This led to establishment of first 'vulture restaurant' in 2015 at Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra; followed by 4 others in Gadhchiroli and 1 in Harsul, Nashik district
Vultures are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, where white-backed and long-billed varieties are 'critically endangered' as per the IUCN Red Data List