How Powys conservationists are saving an endangered vulture
Falconry Experience Wales, based in Adfa near Newtown, welcomed their first pair of Hooded Vultures, Togo and Hope, two years ago and now hope to start breeding within the next few years.
Conservation efforts are being made because of the 16 African and European vulture species, 11 are facing extinction, with populations crashing over the past 20 years.
Barry Macdonald and Luce Green, owners of Falconry Experience Wales hope the chicks will be part of a wider conservation programme and eventually released into the wild in their home of Africa if the situation improves there.
Barry and Luce are collaborating with the Horstmann Trust, the UK's only dedicated vulture breed for release conservation charity and hope the pair will play a crucial role in conservation efforts.
Barry said: 'We have been aware of the persecution of vultures for years, but the situation has become much more critical.
'If it deteriorates to a point where these vultures are almost extinct in Africa, then the birds bred in captivity will be the only population to help the breed recover.'
'We have never bred birds before at Falconry Experience Wales, so this will be a new venture for us.
'It's only because of the threat of extinction that we have become involved.
'Our pair of Hooded vultures were bred in captivity in the UK but their ancestry is Guinea in West Africa.'
The plight of species in South Africa was highlighted last week over a hundred birds all listed as endangered or critically endangered were poisoned in the Kruger National Park. Poachers increasingly use agricultural toxins to target high-value species, including vultures, as well as other animals such as lions.
Falconry Experience Wales also owns Vinnie, an African White-Backed Vulture.
In addition to the vultures, Barry and Luce have also recently welcomed a Steller's Sea Eagle, one of the world's largest eagles which is classified as vulnerable by The International Union for Conservation of Nature red list.
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The Herald Scotland
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Wales Online
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