LIFE Safe for Vultures, a reportage and a public meeting to talk about the release of the first griffon vultures in Southern Sardinia

Also the regional councilor for the Environment Rosanna Laconi, at her first public outing, in Villasalto to celebrate the event.

LIFE Safe for Vultures, a reportage and a public meeting to talk about the release of the first griffon vultures in Southern Sardinia

A video reportage that recounts one of the most important actions of the project, but also all the phases that have allowed us to reach this moment, will be previewed tomorrow in Villasalto, at the opening of the public event organized by the LIFE Safe partners for Vultures. It is an extraordinary event for the policies of conservation of habitats and ecosystems in Sardinia, so much so that the regional councilor for the Environment, Rosanna Laconi, will celebrate its importance in her first public outing as representative of the island government. It will be an opportunity to celebrate the release of the first contingent of griffon vultures included in the restocking program which aims to repopulate areas of Sardinia in which the species has historically played a fundamental ecosystem role, ending up becoming extinct due to factors such as food shortage , poisoning and interaction with energy infrastructure.

The documentary retraces, through unpublished images and testimonies, the journey in stages made by the 15 young individuals released in recent days from the aviary of Cea Romana, the forest construction site managed by the Forestas Agency, in the municipal area of ​​Villasalto. The arrival of the griffon vultures from Spain, the quarantine in the Bonassai wildlife recovery centre, the veterinary checks, the transfer to the aviary where they stayed from last May until a few days ago, the ringing, the discolouration of the feathers and the GPS equipment to make them recognizable and to be able to track their movements and habits: everything was documented and translated into a film, then enriched by the contributions of the various partners, from the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Sassari, leader of the project, to the Agency itself Forestas, from the Forestry and Environmental Surveillance Corps of the Sardinia Region to e-distribuzione and the Vulture Conservation Foundation.

The appointment is for 10.30 am on Tuesday 16 April in the municipal hotel made available by the administration. After the institutional greetings, the proceedings will be opened by Fiammetta Berlinguer of the University of Sassari, scientific director of the project, who will illustrate the common objectives and actions undertaken over the six years of activity, three of which have already passed. Expanding the framework within which LIFE Safe for Vultures operates will be Consuelo Benedetti of the Vulture Conservation Foundation, who will talk about the ecosystem restoration program envisaged by the EU. Dionigi Secci of Forestas will talk about the restocking program in Villsalto, while Umberto Graziano of the Forestry Corps will talk about the mitigation of the risk of poisoning thanks to the anti-poison dog teams.

This will be followed by contributions from Elisabetta Raganella from Ispra, who will contribute to the debate with an interesting comparison with what happens with Bonelli’s Eagle, Salvatore Seminara from the International Foundation for Biodiversity in the Mediterranean, who will illustrate the process of reintroducing the griffon vulture in Sicily, and Ernesto Alvares of Grefa, who, starting from what is being done in Spain, will provide an overall picture of the European scenario.

It will be possible to follow the work in streaming from the project’s Facebook page.