Stop Wildlife Poisoning

Category: carbofuran | Date: May 08 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Hi readers. During this survey, I am supposed to be gathering data of poisoned birds, counting the different species and their poison-killed individuals. However, many at times I have found myself struggling with resuscitating poisoned birds especially when I should be birding to cool off from the heat of anguishing memories from the bird poisoning scenes. I am not complaining, it is just the frustration that comes with it.

During such moments, I regret that I am not a veterinary doctor. I know drinking water brings relief to intoxicated individuals may be because when taken, it has a diluting effect resulting in the non attainment of the lethal dose level, hence the toxin reaching the system of the bird is not strong enough to kill it. But what happens when the intoxicated birdcannot bowse or drink water? It is not a very good feeling.

Still, I understand that there is an antidote to furadan poisoning, a drug called prallidoxime. May be the same drug in relevant preparation would come in handy to save birds in Bunyala. Vets are best placed as far as the details about the drug, inclusive of administering is concerned.

But the worst woe is that even once rescued, the birds are still fully exposed to furadan as before and you feel your efforts are futile afterall. This is the main reason furadan needs to be taken not just off the shelves of the agrovets, but also from other hands that maintain stockpiles of the poison. I have unconfirmed information that our local irrigation schemes are one of such places. Makes sense birds are still being massacred in large scale in Bunyala.

Four days ago I found a bird in a muddy puddle in Bunyala Rice Scheme. If he had been a water bird, it would have been fine, but the guy was a seedeater; an African Mourning Dove.

When I reached out to him, he seemed to be alert and walking alright but I wondered why he was not taking off.

I finally got hold of him and realized he flapped his wings strongly but could not take to the air. A look at the primaries, which are the outermost wing feathers of flight, I realized they had been glued together by the mud. Aha! a bath and the bird should be fine.

The photo above shows the outer wing feathers stuck together by mud.

Another look however and I realized the bird was injured on the breast(check photo below to the left of the bird’s breast).

Well, the injury was not so deep, so I went on to give the bird a wash especially where the feathers were sticking so hard together on the head and wings.

Some sunning after bathing. My arm seemed his favourite perch.

Time to go! In a few more minutes, the bird hoped to the ground, preened a little before taking to flight (above photo).

Recounting the incidence, I see a relation between furadan and this bird ending up incapacitated in mud. The bird must have been disoriented and came tumbling on a sharp remnant shaft of what used to be the stalk on which rice was growing before harvesting. This explains the injury. naturally, the bird must have struggled to get on its wings again, but overcome by the poison ended up in the muddy ditch. He had to spend the night in the ditch albeit the lingering danger of prowling predatory cats and the storm that somewhat did not come down as forceful the previous night. The fact that the bird might not have ingested enough poioson to attain the lethal dosage of furadan explains the bird’s survival since the toxin may have been cleared by its immunity overnight. Then we stumble on the bird in the morning and he cannot move because his limbs of aerial movement are glued together and may be also because of some pain from the injury, most likely sustained during its fall.

It must have been a tough battle and though the dove survived, out there is the same intoxicant, furadan, and the bird may just meet its end anytime. This is one of the many, and I wonder how many more are out there going through the same ordeal and have no one to attend to them and though they may survive death from furadan, they may not survive death from their numerous predators.

Once birds and other wildlife are intoxicated, death seems to get its grip and maintains it with a fierce tenacity.

Will keep posting for you.

Tags: Bunyala, furadan, Intoxication, poisoning