Overview
- BNHS will release three male and three female slender-billed and white-rumped vultures, aged two to three years, in Kamrup and Biswanath districts.
- Dates are being finalised for the pilot reintroduction, with birds bred at the BNHS Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre in Rani, Kamrup.
- The programme uses a soft-release method with pre-release holding to let the birds observe local scavengers and adapt to natural conditions.
- BNHS, working with RSPB, the Assam Forest Department and Animal Husbandry, has spent over 15 years preparing communities and veterinarians for vulture-safe practices.
- Key risks flagged include lethal NSAIDs such as diclofenac, aceclofenac, ketoprofen and nimesulide, plus pesticide poison-baiting of carcasses, which have delayed releases in the past.