Starvation of Griffon Vultures in Aragón (N Spain)
What is a Griffon Vulture?
With a wingspan of 250 centimeters and a weight of some 6 kilos
Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) are one of the biggest birds living
freely in Europe. They breed in colonies on ledges of huge rock walls
and at daytime wander up to some 300 kilometers in search of food:
carcasses of dead animals. They can eat the flesh in minutes, just
leaving the clean bones. The problem about 20.000 Griffon Vultures
who are living in Aragon (N.Spain) can't find enough food to raise
their young. Hunger obliges them to get closer to farms to get food.
They enter farms to eat recently dead animals, placentas and even
seem to attack weak animals. Hundreds of sheep have already died of
fear for attacking Vultures and farmers are becoming afraid for
Griffon Vulture attacks. At the other hand, more immature Griffon
Vultures were brought in to rehabilitation-centers in the autumn of
2006. Lack of food made them so weak they could be caught by hand.
Without help many of them certainly would have died and it is unknown
how many individuals have died in the fields. Less than half of the
usual population of Griffon Vultures from the important colonies of
Riglos and Guara started breeding in 2007, because most of the adults
are too weak to produce eggs. It is expected that the ones started
breeding will raise no young at all by lack of food. Other scavengers
such as Lammergeir (Bearded Vulture), Egyptian Vulture and Black and
Red Kite face, all protected and endangered species, figuring on
European Red Lists, are facing the same problem. The Griffon Vultures
are suffering from some other important problems. Many windmill parks
built in the last years in Aragon work as a slaughterhouse for
Vultures. Between 2000 and 2006 almost 1.000 Griffon Vultures were
found dead at just five of these parks in the Zaragoza province.
Electrical wires produce an unknown number of kills. Another
important dead cause is the use of poisoned baits to kill foxes and
wandering dogs. This illegal practice is recently spreading in
Aragon, as in many parts of Spain, and is causing unknown but
certainly important death on all kind of scavenger birds.
Starvation: Where it comes from
Since October 2005 the autonomous region of Aragon, situated in the
North of Spain with the seize of Belgium and Holland together and
about 2.3 million inhabitants, introduced a new law which makes it
impossible to throw dead animals at the _Muladares_. _Muladares_ are
the traditional places around the villages where farmers bring their
dead animals to be eaten by Vultures and other scavengers. In Aragon
traditional livestock farming (sheep, goat) is still important and
cows wander during the summer months freely in the high Pyrenees. In
the year 2000 at least 200 traditional _Muladares_ were in regular
use, all closed today. With this new law (DECRETO 207/2005, de 11 de
octubre, del Gobierno de Aragon., published in BOA number 128 the
28th of October 2005) the Aragon government suddenly stopped the
essential food sources for Griffon Vultures and other scavengers. As
all traditional _Muladares_ were closed, no new measures on
artificial feeding were taken or even thought of. Griffon Vultures
breeding in Aragon and Spain About 80% of the European population of
Griffon Vultures are breeding in Spain. Aragon, which includes the
central Pyrenees, is one of the strongholds of the species. Since
Griffon Vultures became protected, populations have grown enormously.
National counts in 1979, 1989 and 1999 showed that the Spanish
population doubles in less than 10 years. Figures of 1999 showed
22.455 breeding pairs for the whole of Spain. Aragon counted for 25%
of this population. Birds from Aragon have been used for
reintroduction programs elsewhere in Europe, eg. in Italy. Few recent
counts on breeding Griffon Vultures in Aragon are available but their
downfall is obvious: Griffon vulture nests and breeding success in
the Pyrenees of Aragon: Riglos: 2000-2002 92 pairs and 58 young 2006:
74 pairs and 38 young 2007: 40 pairs and 0? young Guara - San Martin
de la Valdonsera 1999 89 pairs and 75 young 2007 15 pairs and 0?
young Protests Hungry Griffon Vultures and their presumed attacks on
ill and weak livestock has been a hot item in the Aragon newspapers
for the last year, some examples are added to this writing. The
Farmer Association as well as all Nature Protection explained they
didn't agree with the way the new law has been introduced. The
regional Minister (_Consejero_) of Agriculture of Aragon Mr. Gonzalo
Arguilo, responded the problems were _exaggerated_ and _no dead
animals at all may be left in the field_ (newspaper Heraldo de
Aragon, 31-01-2007). This is contrary to European Commission
Decision, which mentions scavenging birds as a legal method for
destruction of dead livestock. The Aragon Government have started
working on the introduction of some ten new artificial feeding sites,
_Muladares_, which in future will be supplied with garbage of
slaughter-houses. Actual situation and future Feeding of garbage from
slaughter-houses on artificial _Muladares, _ organized by the
Government of Aragon can by no means be sufficient for all the birds
who feed on dead animals in the region. As long as the regional
Government of Aragon will not take the problem seriously and use the
European Directive, as can be done in this case, young Griffon
Vultures will starve to dead on their nest and full grown exhausted
individuals will be picked-up from the ground not being able to fly
anymore. Attacks on weak and ill livestock at farms will continue to
occur. It is important to point out that the COMMISSION DECISION of
25 November 2005 amending Decision 2003/322/EC as regards the feeding
of certain necrophagous birds with certain category 1 material,
published in the Official Journal of the European Union 26.11.2005,
has been written especially for situations as we find it in Aragon:
_In order to improve the availability of feed to endangered or
protected species, ensure that carcasses of bovine and at least 4% of
carcasses of ovine and caprine animals intended to be used for
feeding are tested prior to that use with a negative result. It has
to be added that by transporting carcasses in ordinary trucks, not
cooled, all kind of carcasses mixed and at temperatures that in the
Ebro Valley of Aragon rise to over 40 degrees Celsius in summer, this
introduction of the new law (DECRETO 207/2005, de 11 de octubre, del
Gobierno de Aragon) is increasing the risk of spreading animal
deceases in stead of decreasing it. We already noted that municipals
are not willing to authorize artificial feeding sites on their ground
because these risks of contamination.
Conclusion and solution
Our conclusion is the Aragon Government is not acting according to
the letter nor to the sense of European COMMISSION DECISION of 25
November 2005, speaking about ´... improve the availability of feed
to endangered or protected species ..._. It is quite cynical to see
how the EU spend millions on reintroduction programs and LIVE-
projects on endangered bird species, as the Griffon Vulture and the
Lammergeir, which populations are now seriously threatened by the
decision of a Regional Government. From the point of view of food for
the Griffon Vultures and other scavenger birds, it is important that
traditional _Muladares_ will be re-opened. Instead of closing this
_Muladares_, decease controls on carcasses as mentioned above can
take place, a system already adopted by France and the Spanish Region
La Rioja (N. Spain). In combination with traditional _Muladares_,
some artificial feeding-sites can be established. The point of view
of the Farmer Association is that all traditional _Muladares_, where
needed, should be opened under decease control as stated by the
European Commission.
Signed: Independent experts on Vultures and scavenger birds, march
2007: Wil Luiijf, FFF@antenna.nl [Fast Forward Foundation, the
Netherlands] Kees Woutersen, keeswoutersen@auna.com
[www.birdingpyrenees.com] Fondo Amigos del Buitre (FAB),
fab@fondoamigosdelbuitre. org [www.fondoamigosdelbuitre. org] Alvaro
Cami§a, acamia@vodafone.es [biologist and investigator] Griffon Vultures
trying to find some food on a waste dump, behavior never seen before
Fondo de Amigos del Buitre (FAB) is a NGO in Aragon which keeps on
fighting to prevent the 20.000 the Griffon Vultures of Aragon
starving to death. We ask other organizations to help, writing a
letter of support to: fab@fondoamigosdelbuitre.org. We appreciate articles in
newspapers and magazines on the subject to make the problem know to
all. Please send us a copy so everybody in Aragon can see how other
Europeans think about it.