Redeia and the Sustainability and Environmental Department of the Regional Government of Andalusia have signed an agreement to set up a hacking programme in the Alcornocales park, in Cadiz, to recover and conserve the population of Egyptian vultures in Andalusia.

This action is intended to support the wild Egyptian vulture population in Andalusia by using the hacking technique with six chicks that were hatched in captivity. This is a method of recovering bird populations that has proven to be very effective with other species of birds. It consists of releasing specimens from an enclosure (an aviary) that serves as a nest and an area for adaptation. The birds remain inside the enclosure for a period prior to their release so that they can become attached to the territory and live their lives in the wild once they leave the aviary and start to form breeding pairs.

The project forms part of Redeia’s Comprehensive Impact Strategy, which the parent company of Red Eléctrica started in 2023 in response to the company’s social commitment to support regional economic and social development through the application of innovative solutions and projects to create shared value with communities.
 
The programme to raise Egyptian vulture chicks meant they had to be transferred by experts to a large enclosure, a process known as hacking, which was set up next to the Roe Deer Reference Centre in the Alcornocales Park. There, they are fed using concealed methods so that the chicks recognise the space as where they were raised by their parents. This will encourage them to return and settle after their first juvenile migrations.

In a recent visit to the centre, accompanied by Jorge Jiménez, Redeia’s delegate in Andalusia, the Andalusian Government’s local Sustainability Councillor, Óscar Curtido, stressed “the local government's firm commitment to the conservation and preservation of species in our region”, and “the usefulness of the wildlife adaptation facilities that have been built and improved on through public and private support”, to benefit various species, of which the six specimens of Egyptian vulture raised in this enclosure are a good example.”

Jiménez explained that “this initiative is creating shared value in the areas where we operate (Red Eléctrica has a sub-station in Castellar, Cadiz) as part of our Comprehensive Impact Strategy”. He added that “in the context of our support for the conservation and recovery of the Egyptian vulture, Red Eléctrica has carried out other projects in various regions of Spain, such as the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Extremadura and the Canary Islands, and now in Andalusia.”

The Egyptian vulture is the smallest of the scavenging birds of prey found in Spain and is classed as an “endangered species” in Andalusia. Its numbers have dropped sharply in the region in recent years. There are only 27 breeding pairs today, compared with 90 at the end of the 1980s. This is therefore a vital project to conserve the species, aligned with Redeia’s and Red Eléctrica’s commitment to protect biodiversity and preserve the natural heritage of Andalusia.