On Thursday, the FF Plus tabled a proposal in the Provincial Legislature with a request to urgently address any vulture threats in the Kruger National Park and surrounding nature reserves in the Bosbokrand Local Municipality.
More than a hundred vultures and a hyena died last week after they ate a poisoned buffalo carcass near Punda Maria in the Kruger National Park.
To make matters worse, it is breeding season and chicks cannot survive without their parents.
Such cases of poisoning occur quite frequently and may greatly contribute to the extinction of various African vulture species.
If the provincial government keeps ignoring the situation in the local nature reserves (the Kruger National Park, the Manyeleti Game Reserve, Sabi Sands Game Reserve and the Bosbokrand Nature Reserve), it could turn into an ecological disaster.
In addition, vultures are used as muti by traditional leaders and one vulture can reportedly fetch between R300 and R1500.
It is estimated that the Traditional Health Practitioners Association in the Bosbokrand Local Municipality kills between 400 and 800 vultures per year.
The FF Plus's proposal calls for a strengthened policy, which includes an educational campaign to raise awareness among local residents about vultures and their important role in the ecosystem.
Sanctuary and breeding programmes must also be established to restore the species in areas where they have been eradicated locally.
Vultures are an umbrella species in the ecosystem. If the vulture threat is addressed, other game species in the ecosystem will also be safeguarded.
The FF Plus requested funding to be earmarked for implementing the abovementioned interventions.
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