Stop Wildlife Poisoning

Hi, this is Ngaio again. 

Thanks to everyone for their comments and research. I think a few major issues are emerging here.

First and foremost, there is the issue of whether or not wildlife mortality and endangerment to human health have arrisen from legal (or labeled) useage or from illegal use. If it arises from legal use then FMC definitely has to take responsability for that.  Now, strictly speaking, the company is not responsible for individuals using carbofuran illegally, but they are knowingly manufacturing a highly toxic compound that is being purchased to poison wildlife, not just for agricultural purposes. We are talking about numerous incidences that are decimating wildlife populations, not just one or two isolated cases. If FMC had andy sense of corporate responsability they could launch an education campaign and carry out a proper risk assessment relevant to Africa to establish various toxicity levels to the species likely to be exposed. But would an effective education campaign then result in a decrease in their sales? And might a risk assessment reveal the risks to wildlife?

Howard, you made a good point–I completely agree that we need to back up our claims with some good, hard science. We cannot afford to be emotional on this one, it’s too easy to tear down emotional arguments. It would be very useful to see what sort of hard data FMC has. I was interested to read Jophie’s post regarding the claim that a hippo would have to consume 300 to 500 kg of carbofuran at once to die. Is this on the basis of toxicity tests carried out on hippos or surrogate species who would respond similarly? What dose level would this correspond to? To make some headway, we will need to be able to clearly establish that a) the animal was exposed to carbofuran in x formulation, b) the exposure to the carbofuran was the predominant or only cause of death and c) the level of exposure was consistent with a legal / illegal application.

Another issue is the root cause of the poisoning: human-wildlife conflict. As Dipesh says, it’s going to take more than banning a compound (or suggesting a ’safer’ alternative) to make the problem go away. Colleen, I thought your point about promoting more harmonious and equitable farming practices was very relevant. It’s certainly necessary to encourage people not to take matters into their own hands and go after a lion that has killed some of their livestock, for example, but it is also critical to take steps to minimise livestock losses in the first place. An audit of farming practices, crops and use of pesticides would likely reveal the occasions when pesticides are used, but not actually necessary. I’ll have a look through the list you sent and see about contacting some of the groups.

I guess the thing that strikes me the most, at the moment, is the argument that carbofuran does not pose an ‘unreasonable’ risk. This is a chillingly ambiguous term. Are we to believe that the wildlife and human health incidents noted up to now are ‘reasonable’ risks then? Who is setting this threshold?

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I have had reported to me that on Borana ranch (Laikipia District, Kenya) on the 25th April, rangers discovered one adult male lion dead near the boundary with Mukogodo forest.  According to the ranch management the most likely cause of death was poisoning, although unfortunately they were unable to get a sample from the stomach contents for lab testing.  If I can get photos of the lion I will post them here.  Borana think that it is likely that this male’s companion may also have been poisoned.  Last year two adult male lion were killed in the same area.

Database of poisoning incidents – can you provide information? I am collating information on incidents of use of carbofuran and other poisons to deliberately kill large predators and scavengers in Kenya, to develop a database that can be used as evidence in the argument for controlling / banning carbofuran in this country, and as a permanent catalogue.  I would also be interested to hear about cases of accidental poisoning.

If you know of any poisoning incidents in any part of Kenya, please contact me at jophieclark@googlemail.com.  I am interested in any level of information, ranging from anecdotal reports to cases that have been confirmed by laboratory testing.  Confidentiality and data ownership will be respected.

Jophie

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I‘ve been shocked at the response from our government and private agencies about the carbofuran allegations. We are apparently a nation in total denial.

I’ve just seen this on Nat Geo  in which Nicholas Wadhams relates his interview with FMC and  - I quote …

“Philadelphia-based FMC Corporation, the maker of carbofuran, denies WildlifeDirect’s claims of inappropriate use, adding that the company cannot be held responsible.

The Kenyan distributor of Furadan, Juanco SPS, also denies that carbofuran caused the hippo deaths in Masai Mara.

“Those claims are completely unjustified, and we have our own data to support that,” said Julius Gatembo, head of horticulture at Juanco.

“What they say about the hippos is just impossible. You’d probably require that hippo to eat about 300 to 500 [kilograms] [661 to 1,102 pounds] of Furadan at once to die from it.

“That’s just impossible.”

FMC argued in 2006 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had “exaggerated the risks of carbofuran and underestimated its unique benefits to agriculture.”

The company added that carbofuran “does not pose an unreasonable risk” if handled correctly”.

Can you believe this? How can FMC, the makers of the chemical, disown responsibility for any negative effects? Is this highly irresponsible or am I imagining things?

Many are wondering why we aren’t seeing reports of human poisoning by carbofuran if it’s accumulating in vegetables. Interestingly I found this article about the hospitalization of 132 people in eastern Kenya due to poisoning after eating sick animals on News 24 and on The Times

Reuters write: ” NAIROBI - Some 132 villagers in eastern Kenyan have been treated in hospitals for food poisoning linked to eating meat from sick animals, a health official said.

Scores of people flocked to hospitals in eastern Kenya’s Nyambene district complaining of “vomiting, diarrhoea, general abdominal pains and body weakness,” local health official Michael Kariuki told state-run Kenya News Agency”.

I wonder if this could this be a case of carbofuran poisoning? I’m going to write to the Pest Control Products Board  immediately to investigate. After all it is the planting season and it’s likely that livestock and wildlife are getting exposed to the chemical on farms.

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Hi, this is Ngaio. I had a quick sift around to get more information on Mocap, more specifically on ethoprop, its ingredient. Incidentally, if you’re ever curious about pesticides or other compounds and you find yourself confronted by a page full of numbers, letters and chemical formulas (which can be a bit overwhelming!), here are a few things to bear in mind:

‘Use type’ indicates the target pest species. The CAS number is an identity number of sorts and if you use it as a key word a lot of regulatory and safety information is likely to come up. The chemical class will give you insight into the compound’s properties, likely structure, and mode of action — basically, how it kills or otherwise does its thing. For example, carbofuran is a carbamate, ethoprop is an organophosphorus, DDT is an organochlorine compound. The commercial name is the one the compound is sold under (Furadan), the main active ingredient is usually in brackets (carbofuran). And formulations are the different forms the compound is sold as: liquid, powder, granular…

From what I found on the American Bird Conservancy web site, ethoprop is very persistant in waterways and has been associated with a few incidences of fish kills. If this is the case this wouldn’t help the hippos very much! It is believed to have associated mammalian and avian toxicity, with a potential for bioaccumulation in tissues. It also has associated human health risks.

Now, more specific toxicity information is needed here to judge whether or not Mocap could be a suitable replacement. But safety testing is usually carried out on species that do well in the laboratory and are unlikely to ever be exposed in the agricultural environment. That’s part of the reason it was such a surprise when diclofenac was implicated in the Gyps vulture mortality on the Indian subcontinent. I’ll cast around to see whether tests have been carried out on token Africa species for ethoprop…

Do we need to suggest a replacement for Furadan? How vital is it to the local economy and to farming practices? Is it irresponsable, unfair not to suggest an alternative? What do you think?  

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Hi again this is Paula again.  One of the arguments during our meeting on Friday revolved around allegations of the use of Furadan in a fogging machine in the Mara to control mosquitoes. It was alleged that the fogging of vegetation contributed to the deaths of the 5 hippos and subsequent paralysis of 5 lions. The gentleman from Juanco and the Pest Control Products Board both questioned how this could be done - as the chemical is granular. The argument about how soluble the product was, and whether it would clog the fogging machine went back and forth - both sides adamantly insisting on their point. This and other facts made m realise that we conservationists are so fearful of Furadan, and so sure of it’s dangers, that we haven’t taken the time, or perhaps we don’t have the courage to get to know this beast.

This afternoon I did an experiment that I have been thinking of

I opened my pot of Furadan and discovered to my utter surprise that the product is not a white powder but tiny purple granules.

They look quite harmless. Then I poured these granules into half a bottle of water to see how readily they dissolve.

Here it is after five minutes of vigorous shaking. the water turned a light shade of purple, but the granules were clearly not very soluble.

Next on my research - talk to a farmer. My sister is a farmer, she says that before she became a fanatical organic farmer, she used to handle it with her bare hands. She didn’t know it was dangerous, and she didn’t get sick. I called up a former employee of a major distributer of Furadan.

He told me that the main users of Furadan are small growers and large scale farmers – who buy it in different pack sizes. Small scale farmers use it on vegetables.

He says that Furadan is not supposed to use on crops that are harvested below 90 days because it is a systemic pesticide and will be in the crop itself during this time. However, all these small scale farmers use it on vegetables that have a growing season of less than 30 days. why do they do this? Because the chemical is so effective. It kills cut-worms and other pests resulting in really clean green crops without any bite marks. However, he believes that the chemical is in the fruit/leaves that are harvested. Asked why they do this he says because they are generally not aware of the risks.

I asked if he was aware of any cases of human poisoning or toxic effects, he said that he was not and that he beleived there were cases although difficult to prove because these small scale farmers only use the chemical on crops for local markets – and not on crops for their own domestic use. He predicted that if we looked, we’d find cases of health effects of Furadan in towns where these vegetables are taken and sold.

He says that he has observed Furadan being abused in agriculture in Subukia where the community were spraying it on crops and not aplying it on the soil as required. He said they mix 10 gm in 20 litres of water. By applying it on the surface of the plants any insect pests are killed before they can take a bite …as a result the vegetables look exceptionally green and clean but he says the risks to peopel are very high.

On alternatives to Furadan he said he belived that Moccap was better though more expensive. This is a chemical that works on contact – it isn’t systemic so doesn’t enter into the system. He is going to send me the info on it’s Active ingredients. I would hesitate to promote any other pesticide to replace Furadan until I knew more about it. Has anyone out there heard of it?

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Greetings everyone, this is the first post of a multi authored STOP WILDLIFE POISONING blog.

Our meeting last week in Nairobi revealed the shocking damage that carbofurans are having on Kenya’s wildlife and led to a press release on Monday by Richard Leakey that has already attracted much local and international interest by the Daily Telegraph here, Reuters here FM radio here and in India here. The story has been picked up on several blogs like Not Honey here and Ethics and Animals here as well as here and Yubanet here. We expect the story to continue to generate interest.

This video taken by a vet Asuka shows the debilitating effect of secondary poisoning on a lion after it ate a hippopotamus that had died of carbofuran poisoning in the famous Masai Mara game reserve.

This incident raises grave concern about the toxic levels of pesticides that are entering into an otherwise pristine ecosystem, this could have been due to inappropriate use locally, or even possibly from agricultural areas may kilometers away. Either way, it shows just how dangerous this chemical is in Kenya.

We are looking for a good name for our campaign - In the USA there is a group called the Poison Action Network North America (PANNA), in UK there is the Campaign Against Illegal Poisoning of Wildlife (CAIP).

Sadly, the poisoning of wildlife is not unique to Kenya and big cats, but is also a problem across the sea - conservationists in the USA are raising awareness about the attempts by the city authorities in Philadelphia to rid parks of rats has wiped out squirrels. Humans are notoriously good at creating more problems than they solve.

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