The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology aims to rescue the ancient Zoroastrian practice of corpse disposal (writes Ashling O’Connor). Biologists are to inseminate artificially the Oriental white-backed vulture at the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad. The vultures once cleared carcases from the land. Numbers have fallen to a few thousand, which has led to questions about the Parsi community’s ritual of leaving dead relatives to scavengers.
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