Five of the six species of vultures of Africa are no longer seen in Nigeria. The hooded Vulture can still be found in parts of the country, but there is a marked decline in numbers. The only Vultures seen during a recent survey were Vultures being sold in markets. Live Vultures sell for 20,000 Naira, while a dead one goes for 7,000 Naira in local markets. These Vultures are thought to have been imported from Chad, Niger and Benin.

Interestingly, most Nigerian communities have ancient taboos, which forbid the killing or eating of Vultures. In most parts of the north of Nigeria, it is forbidden to eat Vultures and the Vulture is seen as a ‘demonic bird’. A Yoruba incantation states ‘It is forbidden to kill a Vulture. It’s forbidden to use Vultures for rituals’.

According to Philip Hall - “There is evidence of widespread killing of Vultures throughout Nigeria for the Juju trade, and no more so than in the South West where in a market in Ibadan alone, there were 260 Vulture carcasses in the Juju market. Vultures are not usually killed for meat, but entirely for their use in the Juju trade.”

Unfortunately nothing is being done right now to address this sad situation.