Wind farms are emerging as a major cause of mortality of large scavenging bird species, which may be catastrophic when they operate in concert with other threats. As a study model, we examine the impact of wind turbines on the population dynamics of a soaring bird species, when acting in conjunction with a sudden decrease in food availability following the European bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) epidemic. In Spain, vultures have been provided with supplementary food at traditional vulture restaurants for centuries. In 2006/2007, these feeding stations were closed as part of disease control measures. At the same time, wind farms were deployed within the vulture foraging range. We used capture-recapture data and direct observation to monitor the impacts of these changes on the vulture population. Keywords: bovine spongiform encephalopathy; Gyps fulvus; mortality; population model; rescue effect; scavenging birds; wind farms: