• In February, 20 endangered vultures died at Maasai Mara National Reserve.
• BirdLife now wants agrochemicals used illegally to poison vultures banned.
African vultures could soon be wiped out as a result of poisoning, BirdLife International has warned.
The organisation said poisoning had resulted in the highest recorded death toll of the birds.
BirdLife condemned the recent poisoning of 537 highly endangered vultures by elephant poachers in Botswana.
The June 20 incident resulted in the country’s highest recorded death toll of vultures in a single poisoning incident and is one of the worst killings of vultures on the continent.
It rivaled a similar incident in the Caprivi area of Namibia in 2013 where between 400-600 vultures were killed.
BirdLife is a global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity and works with communities towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.
In February, 20 endangered vultures died at Maasai Mara National Reserve after poisoning.
Five others that were critically ill were treated and released.
Eric Reson who discovered the dead birds said all the vultures had fed on a poisoned spotted hyena at the periphery of the reserve.
BirdLife said the catastrophic vulture mortality continues to occur because of poisoning by poachers.
"Poachers poison vultures to stop them circling above carcasses thus signaling their illegal activity. Targeted and non-targeted poisoning of vultures is escalating at an alarming rate across the continent, with a high number of incidents focused on southern Africa," the organisation said.
Vultures are invaluable due to the public health services they provide.
By eating rotting carcasses, they prevent the spread of diseases such as tuberculosis, rabies and anthrax.
BirdLife now wants agrochemicals used illegally to poison vultures banned and the use of safer alternatives encouraged.
“If such catastrophic episodes continue to occur across Africa, we may lose the race to save these iconic and vitally important species,” said Beckie Garbett from BirdLife International Africa partnership secretariat.
“Vultures are currently not receiving the global conservation support and recognition that many other highly threatened species have, which puts them on a back foot in terms of conservation organisations having the capacity to halt and reverse their decline.”
BirdLife also want more attention paid to African vultures at relevant international policy forums.
It has called for the passage of relevant policies that will help to address the plight of vultures and other wildlife species.
"Only through high-level driven actions will African vultures get the attention and protection that they deserve from sentinel poisoning. It is the duty of those with the power to make a change to stand up and make themselves heard on behalf of all wildlife species impacted by illegal activities in Africa."