Stop Wildlife Poisoning

The Team

Funds for surveys for carbofuran intoxication amongst humans

Category: Pesticides, carbofuran | Date: Jul 07 2008 | By: Martin

Hi, I am back from field. No poisoning encounters during my short trip to Machakos in eastern Kenya. I am yet to get down to Mwea. Only through a phone call yesterday, I was briefed by a friend that carbofuran poisoning is on as always. ‘The people of Mwea cannot resist the ducks’, my informant jocked!

As part of Wildlife Direct’s campaign against carbofuran, we wish to come up with supportive statistics of human cases of intoxication by carbofuran so that we try to win Kenya’s Ministry of Public Health’s support in the campaign against carbofuran.

Two sites have been identified so far where humans are eating birds killed through carbofuran poisoning. These are Mwea and Bunyala irrigation schemes in Eastern and Western provinces of Kenya respectively. There are allegations by laymen from Mwea that when you feed on the carbofuran-poisoned ducks, you feel a sensation described only as ‘weak knees’ after the meal, which clears up shortly after (nervous disfunctioning?). They add that continued regular feeding on the poisoned birds eventually kills the people who fancy the poisoned birds’ meat. $ 600 is required to get someone to these two sites to:

1. Interview the people who subsist on the poisoned birds and,

2. To obtain human neurotoxication (relating to nervous disfunctioning which might suggest effects of carbofuran) data from nearby health centres and,

3. Gather similar data from health centres whose surrounding population is not exposed to carbofuran-poisoned wildlife for their subsistence for comparison with data in where individuals are eating carbofuran-poisoned birds.

The more the evidence we gather against carbofuran, the bigger our alliance becomes. This then accredits more the appeal by Dr. Richard Leakey to barn carbofuran in Kenya and increases the chances of this conservation appeal being heeded.

2 Responses to “Funds for surveys for carbofuran intoxication amongst humans”

Dana-Phoenix Arizona, on 07 Jul 2008

I noticed the IFAW logo on the right side of your page. Are you getting some funding from them.? Are they getting the word out about wildlife poisioning? IFAW is a great organization.

Martin Odino, on 08 Jul 2008

Hi Diana. IFAW gave us funds that enabled us hold a meeting involving all stakeholders as concerns Carbofuran poisoning on 25/04/2008. They gave us $3000 towards our total $5700 budget which indeed we greatly appreciate. We are due to submit a report to them in the course of this week which you can be able to access through the google groups links.Amongst the outcomes of the stop wildlife poisoning meeting was the formation of a Stop Wildlife Poisoning Task Force, for which we are trying through this blog to fundraise and get it working. This blog is also an outcome of the meeting which we are using as a campaign tool against the poisoning. The funds we receive are exhibited on the page down the column where you saw the IFAW logo. IFAW’s amount was not shown because this blog did not raise those funds. We are young and just growing to be giants. We will appreciate all the support from you all, our dear donors.

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