Illegal Trade Threatens Nigeria’s Vultures as Population Falls 95%, Says NCF

Bennett Oghifo

Nigeria’s vultures are facing a worsening extinction threat, with illegal killing, poisoning and trafficking of their body parts driving a sharp population decline, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) has warned.

The Foundation, marking International Vulture Awareness Day 2026, called for urgent and coordinated government action to protect the country’s remaining vulture populations, warning that Nigeria has emerged as a major hub for the illegal regional trade in vulture parts.

Of the seven vulture species found in Nigeria, four are classified as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. They are the Hooded Vulture, White-backed Vulture, Rüppell’s Vulture and White-headed Vulture.

The Hooded Vulture, Necrosyrtes monachus, faces the most alarming decline, having lost an estimated 95 per cent of its population since the early 2000s.

Research has also identified Nigeria as a major transit and trading centre for vulture carcasses in West Africa, with an estimated 73 per cent of carcasses traded across the region passing through Nigerian markets.

NCF Director General, Dr. Joseph Onoja, said the scale of the crisis required immediate intervention, stressing that the illegal trade was no longer merely a conservation concern but a threat to ecological balance.

“The crisis facing vultures is not happening somewhere far away. Nigeria is at the centre of this regional conservation challenge, including the illegal trade in vulture parts,” Onoja said.

“We cannot continue to lose these birds to poisoning, illegal killing and trafficking and expect our ecosystems to remain healthy.”

The NCF said the West African Vulture Conservation Action Plan (WAVCAP) identifies Nigeria and Benin as key hubs for cross-border vulture trading, while cases of vulture killing for belief-based use have been reported across the 16 countries covered by the plan.

It therefore stressed that the transboundary nature of the trade required stronger collaboration among countries, security and law-enforcement agencies, conservation organisations and communities.

Vultures, often misunderstood because of their association with death, play a critical role in maintaining public and environmental health. By rapidly consuming animal carcasses and organic waste, they help clean the environment and reduce the potential spread of diseases from dead animals to humans and wildlife.

Across Africa, vulture populations have declined by between 80 and 97 per cent over the past five decades, leaving several species at risk of extinction.

Against this backdrop, the NCF urged the Federal Government to strengthen enforcement of existing wildlife protection laws and intensify surveillance of markets implicated in the illegal trade.

It also called for the full implementation of the adopted WAVCAP and the establishment of Vulture Safe Zones, alongside measures to prevent poisoning and protect critical feeding and breeding grounds.

According to the Foundation, conservation efforts must cover the entire chain of the illegal trade, from research and population monitoring to demand reduction, enforcement and community education.

It specifically called for stronger collaboration with neighbouring countries, particularly Niger, Benin and Cameroon, as well as traditional medicine practitioners, communities, traditional institutions and conservation organisations.

The NCF said it had already begun engaging traditional medicine practitioners to promote awareness of vultures’ ecological importance and encourage plant-based alternatives for belief-based practices.

The Foundation is also undertaking satellite tagging, population surveys, conservation education and community engagement to identify threats and strengthen local support for vulture conservation.

Onoja urged Nigerians to play a role in stemming the decline by refusing to buy or use illegally sourced vulture parts, avoiding wildlife traders involved in the trade and reporting suspected wildlife crimes to relevant authorities.

“We are calling on Nigerians to reject the purchase or use of illegally sourced vulture parts, avoid patronizing wildlife traders, and report suspected wildlife crimes to the relevant authorities,” he said.

The NCF reaffirmed its commitment to working with government, communities, researchers, traditional institutions, law enforcement agencies and conservation organisations to halt the decline of Nigeria’s vultures and preserve their vital ecological role.