Bird enthusiast taking on 3 Peaks challenge for Vulture Restoration Project
Hawk Conservancy staffer Owen Lincoln is climbing mountains for the cause
A team member at the Hawk Conservancy Trust in Weyhill is taking on the Three Peaks challenge to support a Vulture restoration project in the UK and in Pakistan.
Owen Lincoln will be scaling the tallest mountains in England, Wales and Scotland on Friday this week (18th August), which is also his birthday, to support the conservation work of Asian White-backed Vultures.
We visited the site in Weyhill to chat to Owen, who is combining two of his biggest passions in life, walking and birds, with this challenge.
He told us about the work the Pakistan Vulture Restoration Project (PVRP) is doing to help Asian Vultures.
“The money we are raising goes directly to our conservation and breed and release work in Changa Manga. The money we raise goes towards their field work, educational purposes, creating safe zones for these animals and also the breed and release side of things.”
Owen said that vultures are being bred in captivity before being “drip fed” back into safe zones in the world to repopulate parts of Pakistan and Asia.
Fundraising target already smashed
Through his climbs, Owen set out to raise £8,000, but that target has already been broken, with a new goal of £10,000 being set.
“The leading issue for Asian Vultures is an anti-inflammatory drug known as Diclofenac, which we use in Voltarol,” Owen told Greatest Hits Radio, adding “It was introduced in the 90s across parts of Pakistan for Cattle, so it’s like glorified paracetamol for Cows.
“If a Cow dies, you could get a few hundred vultures coming to feed on the carcass, but because of it’s toxicity, the vultures can’t stomach it.
“In the early 2000’s, we weren’t just losing a couple of hundred birds, we were actually losing between 15 to 30 thousand birds every day.”
Owen concluded that it’s important to raise awareness for farmers that there are vulture safe drugs they can use.
“As a conservation organisation, our sole goal is preserving birds of prey and their natural habitats. As much as I love seeing our beautiful birds fly here, its putting back into the wild and seeing the Asian White-backed Vulture, hopefully, repopulate its habitat,” he said.
The Trust’s repopulation efforts have been successful this year, with the birth of two African White-backed Vulture chick’s and their first Hooded Vulture chick earlier this year.
Vulture's 'misunderstood'
Owen says the species are “misunderstood”.
“It’s really getting people to fall in love with them, and that’s what we’re all about here at the Hawk Conservancy Trust, it’s hoping to turn people who are Vulture sceptics into Vulture lovers.
“When you can like something, it’s easier to help them.”
You can support Owen's challenge here.