Stop Wildlife Poisoning

Category: Pesticides | Date: Apr 22 2009 | By: Martin Odino

During the meeting between FMC and Wildlifedirect together with involved conservationists on Furadan poisoning issues, a number of disturbing issues arose from what I will regard as normal defending of your own from the way FMC talked highly of Furadan.

I saw dismay in my colleagues faces when one FMC representative proclaimed that we needed to look out for purple granules around the mouth and in the vicinity if we wanted to have a basis of implicating furadan as the possible cause of death of an animal suspected to have been poisoned, and that…. Mocap is physically similar to Furadan. I recall someone asking innocently, “Is it also purple?” and the answer was a sure YES! Further, that there was a possibility of Furadan containers being re-packed with non-furadan but similar looking granules, the likes of Mocap resulting to false implication of furadan as the culprit poison.

Of course there were many other attempts by the FMC persons to protect their product among them that Furadan is just a name used to define any deadly poisonous pesticide. But what has been tormenting me much as I was doubtful of FMC’s narration is the possibility that I may have missed out on a chemical, especially Mocap and thought it was Furadan being used in some poisoning cases. So today I set out to buy the chemical which is turning out the big time replacement for Furadan for agricultural uses.

Above is the 200 grammes package of Mocap. The cost prize for the pack is USD2.5 but after bargaining, I bought it at USD2.25.

I opened the container and was met by a repulsive pungent whiff. I hope this characteristic makes it difficult to use the pesticide to poison wildlife. I was right to doubt the colour dictated to us by the FMC guys. Surely the granules look grey! the least you can come to link grey with purple is to say grey is a shade of purple, may be?

I even tried dissolving Mocap granules in water just incase it would yield a purple solution. From my basic chemistry, I know that the likes of copper sulphate change from white crystals to give a blue-coloured solution. I think what you are seeing above is a misty suspension, more grey than purple.

This is now purple and I witnessed its preparation, watching a poacher add water on to furadan granules then stir thoroughly.

Surely, Furadan is purple and Mocap is grey!

Tags: FMC, furadan, Mocap, poisoning, Wildlife, Wildlifedirect