JERUSALEM, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Wednesday launched a plan to strengthen and rescue the country's vulture population, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Israel's Nature and Parks Authority (NPA) said in a joint statement.
The number of vultures in Israel is estimated at only 200, compared to 430 counted in 2003, indicating the species is in serious extinction danger, mainly due to poisoning hazards, according to the statement.
The four-year plan, with the amount of 28.5 million shekels (nearly 7.5 million U.S. dollars), aims to reduce farm animal carcasses and food waste discarded in vulture nesting areas that were poisoned by farmers to fend off predators fed from them, which caused deaths of vultures.
Feeding points for vultures will also be established, according to the plan.
The move is part of efforts to conserve nature and the ecological chain and will help advance the ministry's goals in preserving biological diversity in Israel, the statement concluded. ■
