Parsi Body Plans Vulture Breeding to Help Death Rites

October 26, 2009

Author: Ashutosh Shukla

Source: DNA India

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_parsi-body-plans-vulture-breeding-to-help-death-rites_1303131

The Parsi community of the city — who leave their dead out in the open to be consumed by vultures and were facing problems with disposing their dead with the dwindling number of vultures in the city — are hoping to resolve the problem with an aviary to rear vultures. The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) announced the project at a meeting with the community after the new trutees completed one year. They hope to build an aviary in next three to five years’ time.

It is against the Parsis’ Zoroastrian faith to either bury, burn or submerge their dead as they believe it pollutes the environment. Hence, they leave the bodies at the tower of silence left to be consumed by the vultures.

“Earlier, a proposal was scuttled but we are working on a vulture breeding program. It will also take care of the threat of the drug Diclofenac as we will try and ensure that the human body is Diclofenac-free,” said Khojeste Mistree, BPP trustee. It is believed that the vulture population is tapering off because of the intake of drugs like Diclofenac from the human body.