January 2018 saw Janet join Dr Neil Homer-Forbes, BVetMed Dip ECZM(avian) FRCVS, working with Kerri Wolter, the founder of VULPRO – a dedicated rehabilitation center for the preservation, rehabilitation and breeding of the critically endangered South African Vultures.
Vultures may not be the prettiest birds in the world, but they are unquestionably essential – without vultures to strip them bare, carcasses of dead animals are left to slowly disintegrating for days in the hot African sun – encouraging flies, maggots and the potential to spread disease. Vultures have the remarkable ability to clear and clean these carcasses of bacteria and disease that would otherwise have the potential to kill the human race.
However, over the last 30 years the vulture population has declined by a staggering 95% !!!
Does their demise matter ???
ABSOLUTELY YES …
Losses are largely due to the killing for black magic/ tribal medicinal purposes, malicious poisoning by poachers, lead poisoning from the meat they ingest and the conse
quence of such poisoning. Another leading cause of death and injury amongst this species is as a result of electrocution from Electricity Towers – with wing spans of over 2 meters vultures resting on these man-made ‘trees’ can make contact with two un-insulated wires – causing not only serious electrical burns to their wings, but as they fall they can also catch and burn their legs on the wires – before falling and landing heavily on the ground … and, bearing in mind a Cape Vulture can weigh some 8 kg (18lbs), that makes for a really heavy landing, leading to additional, serious physical injury and/or death.
Of the 11 species of vulture found in Africa today, 3 are listed as Endangered and 4 are deemed as Critically Endangered …
Vultures are often misunderstood – they are not hunters in themselves, but are absolutely essential in effectively and very quickly clearing up the bodies of already dead animals. Their unique digestive system can ingest and neutralise harmful toxins, viruses and bacteria that would – and will if carcasses are left to linger longer – be detrimental to the human population should vultures themselves die out. This has already been seen in Asia, where a decline in vulture numbers directly lead to an increase in the wild dog population – and among other detrimental consequences of upsetting the delicate eco-balance, the result was a direct rise in incidents of rabies. Fortunately the Asian predicament was relatively easy to begin to reverse (… although there is still much work to be done there too)
Vulpro, in league with our own International Centre for Birds of Prey here in the UK, are dedicated to the reestablishment of vulture numbers and are actively setting up breeding programmes around the world. An invaluable part of this work involves rehabilitating injured vultures, finding solutions that are acceptable to all parties (since cultural beliefs and illegalities are largely at play in Africa) and providing education to all involved.
The Lightworks Clinic was therefore delighted to be able to help provide the necessary Low Level Laser Therapy training to assist in this unique rehabilitation programme.
Watch for further News and Updates ….
