Stop Wildlife Poisoning

Category: carbofuran | Date: Aug 11 2009 | By: Martin Odino

An officer in his office at PCPB is discussing with his accomplice from JUANCO of their next useful yet again lucrative agrochemical deal. In parliament, politicians are struggling to have patronage over the solving of the cases by the perpetrators of Kenya’s post-election violence.A continent away, a scientist is working away on a computer at FMC. In all these cases, these giants are aware of the sizzling hot Furadan poisoning issue but is a trivial matter to them, or is it a necessary outcome that does not surpass the giants’ benefits from the continued existence of the pesticide in our midst?

In this conservation venture, I meant to collect baseline information and alert conservation and government stakeholders, also train educate and raise awareness on the Furadan poisoning issue. But all these targets are designed to function as a unit. It is therefore a drawback when the enforcer who is the government and its appointed agency, the PCPB, seem dormant and insensitive on the matter.

The Furadan bird poisoning until now seems to effect a mortality of 30% - 40% of the whole bird population exposed to the poisonings. It means 3 to 4 birds die in every 10 that wander into the poacher’s baiting set up. The threat is even higher for tightly social colonies such as the migrant sandpipers and Abdim’s Storks with up to whole colony deaths or 100% mortality.

When FMC announced and began the buy back of its supplied Furadan stocks from Kenya, Mocap quickly replaced it and is at the moment fairly extensively used. No negative effects of the pungent Mocap nor its underperformance have been revealed hitherto which is what was feared of the pesticide. But it was disturbing to find the pesticide still in Kajiado (Kiserian) months later, yet lion deaths due to poisoning by Furadan are known of this pastoralist region. Then Eldoret a few weeks back shocked us with the explicit display of the poisonous pesticide in some agrovet store shelves and now poachers in Bunyala are declaring it on the rise again. I have still not gotten the confirmation but the claim that, “The supplier is still supplying us with Furadan….” by some store keepers in Eldoret Town is a depressing statement. I am forced to think aloud if the statement means, ‘JUANCO are still supplying Furadan’ and where is it from????!!!!…FMC???’ an abomination!

Fellowshipping with bird poachers and trying to enlighten them, counting bird carcasses and turning in poisoning updates has been the procedure during every month’s survey. More has been the testing of the poisoned birds as evidence of bird poisoning using Furadan. While this evidence was stressed on as crucial if any regulation measure had to be effected for Furadan, the agencies whose delegates vehemently insisted on the lab evidence have since been quiet. Does it mean the evidence is not enough as has always been the defence? I am willing to get more samples if they will chip in towards the testing costs. Or is the matter already decided on that Furadan is here to stay?

Technically, this survey is testing methodologiy to be employed elsewhere and is expected that the model survey can be used anywhere. A near success of the methods seems to have hit a snag!

While bird poisonings in Bunyala had drastically declined last month, this is gradually being reversed and is on a steadily elevated trend calling for a change in strategy; may be fill papers with poisoning images. I hope an environmental lawyer out there hears me out!

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Technorati : Bunyala, FMC, Furadan, JUANCO, Mocap, PCPB, Poacher, Poison

Tags: Bunyala, FMC, furadan, JUANCO, Mocap, PCPB, Poacher, poison