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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Jan 28th Patrick W USD 25.00
6 Comments
I don’t know what scares me more, deliberate poisoning or this stuff in the hands of someone who hasn’t a clue, of the havoc it could reek on all living creatures exposed to it.
“Humans are notoriously good at creating more problems than they solve.”
Amen.
s.
POISON PREVENTION IN AFRICA (PPF) just a suggestion –
people tend to take the shortest route or the easiest solution to any problem. so in this case is using cheap chemical to rid of pests or things that you do not like to have around. this solution creates more problem or many miserable death on the innocence done by the careless few.
the task of banning it might be tough because you are dealing with profit seeking business – the poison making chemical company. the most powerful one in the world is mansanto, right? i just can’t remember its spelling. it is so powerful that it can influence governmental policies all over the world.
any way it must be done for seek of the wildlife and people too.
Many Bald Eagles and other raptirs have suffered mass poisonings with cheap American chemical called Furadan,now African Lions are suffering the same fate! Several years ago Furadan was responsible for the mass killings of bald eagles in Wisconsin and other states when it was illegally used to poision predators such cayotes.
Furadan is very regulated pesticide toxin, but even in the US it is brought by many to kill predators.
Statistics show that 20 years ago, there were 200,000 lions in Africa. Today, there are 30,000 and the numbers are going down all the time. Lions are being poisoned at a staggering rate in Kenya, all because of the chemical Furadan.Herdsmen are trying to stop predators from attacking their cattle and goats.
It’s not easy being part of the most invasive species.
This gives me a headache.
Difficult to watch.
What to do about it ?
Keep doing what we’re doing for conservation and hope Mother Nature gets things back in balance soon, one way or another.
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