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Tina Musonza-Herald Correspondent
The Traditional Medical Practitioners Council (TMPC) has raised concern over the increased killing of vultures for ritual purposes saying this is causing a decline in the bird’s population in Zimbabwe.
Some traditional healers are known to prepare charms from vulture parts which are believed to bring good fortune.
This has seen the vultures increasingly falling prey to humans with research conducted by Birdlife Zimbabwe and National University and Science Technology indicating that vulture parts are used in 27 percent of traditional healing sessions thereby contributing to a population decline.
This came out at a workshop organised in Harare last week by Birdlife Zimbabwe in partnership with the Traditional Medical Practitioners Council.
“As Birdlife Zimbabwe, we have noticed that vultures are at risk and we have gone to the extent of championing vulture conservation,” said the organisation’s programme manager for preventing extinctions, Mr Leeroy Moyo.
“They have been endangered at the hands of traditional healers and faith healers whom we hold responsible for destroying vultures because of certain beliefs .
“We have engaged TMPC, Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA), and the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) to help us find solutions to the vulture decline.”
Mr Moyo said they were engaging various stakeholders, including the Government, in vulture conservation.
“Vultures are important in the environment because they are nature’s clean-up crew. They keep the environment free from rotting carcasses and help contain the spread of diseases such as anthrax, botulism and rabies.”
He also said it was crucial to conserve vultures since they had poor breeding success where they reach sexual maturity after six years. If a pair died, it would take nine years to replace it.
Mr Moyo said self-styled prophets were also posing a serious threat to the vulture population.
“Misconceptions have led to the decline of vultures. Faith healers are using vultures as they believe they help in pulling church crowds, fore-sighting, fortune-telling, spiritual healing and ancestor connections.
“Vultures are being harvested for ritual purposes. We have seen vultures’ feet amputated, no beaks and sometimes no heads,” said Mr Moyo.
TMPC vice chairman Mr Timothy Njekete said: “What we should do for vulture conservation is to engage traditional healers and faith healers to stop killing the birds.
“We know they have beliefs and we are not disputing them but those beliefs should not put the environment at risk.”
Mr Njekete added: “Traditional healers, herbalists and faith healers need to transform from the past and move in line with the National Development Strategy 1 anchored on vision 2030.
“We want everyone to be reminded that the environment is the key enabler in attaining an upper middle-income society by 2030,” said Mr Njekete.
He said traditional healers and faith healers should find alternative ways of sustaining their beliefs rather than kill vultures in large numbers.
Online Reporter