Vultures face extinction in Africa

The Ghana Wildlife Society has expressed worry about the alarming rate of extinction of vultures in Africa.

A statement issued in Accra on Monday and copied to the Ghana News Agency said vultures in Africa were facing threats of extinction more than ever, despite their usefulness in Africa and Europe.

It said the major threats facing vultures in Ghana were from poisoning, hunting for body parts to be used in traditional medicine, habitat loss and possible collision with power-lines.

The statement said seven out of 11 vulture species found in Africa were listed as globally threatened.

It said it was a worry that five of these species were included in the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species only in the last seven years.

The statement said the hooded vulture, a specie that has historically been widespread in Africa and Ghana, was listed as endangered in 2011.

It called on the public to join the campaign to conserve vultures, particularly the endangered hooded vultures, in Ghana.

The statement said September 6 has been set aside every year as the International Vulture Awareness Day to raise awareness on the importance of vulture to the environment and appealed to the public to observe it as such.