New EU rules allow farmers to leave dead livestock in the field, helping starving vultures
Brussels, 24 April 2009 – BirdLife International [1] welcomed today’s vote in the European Parliament [2] to put dead meat, or carrion, back on the menu for Europe’s hungry vultures. Vultures, known as nature’s cleaners, are capable of stripping a dead cow or sheep carcass in a matter of hours. They have been starving since EU rules forced all dead livestock to be cleared right away in the countryside [3].