Stop Wildlife Poisoning

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

Conditions are looking up for any life form with the onset of rains in Bunyala.

The local rice irrigation scheme which is esssentially the area’s industrial zone giving most people a chance to earn a penny is bustling with activity at the moment. And the rains have boosted foliage for livestock which are looking fine and birds at first sight are about abundantly and in their various kinds of course being the migration period.

The irrigation scheme

A healthy goat enjoying thorny foliage

Greenshanks finishing off their sleep in the early morning

A female Greater Painted Snipe stirring in the early morning

For weeks now, light drizzles have been gracing the evenings after the scorching tropical day time sunshine. A few days ago however, the rains came down unexpectedly in the morning hour shortly after 0600hrs forcing my assistants and myself to take cover by a roadside hut with the inhabitant(s) most likely sound asleep inside; a few minutes later, the showers subsided. The skies appeared dreary for a downpour and the sunrise rays even lit the east. We were headed for the furthest part of the study site so we did not mind getting a little wet from the slight drizzle provided we beatt time and poachers who are also early risers. Midway through our journey and the showers broke into a significant downpour, so we took cover at the irrigation board premises. We relaxed and watched through the rain not in any hurry any more. Afterall heavy rains meant no poisoning because of the need to economize on the cost of the poison (by the poachers)and the rains washing off the poison from the baits and the birds bowsing fresh rain water would just not maximizing on kills which meant wasted poison.

We took GPS points and made notes, occasionally chatting with the farmers in the rice scheme and enlightening them on this whole business of Furadan and poisoning. I was amazed at how informed some were. I had sought to find out if they had been supplied with Furadan to use in their cultivation plots having noted that they had already been given seedlings, part of the package that normally comes with Furadan. They said they were not being given Furadan this season because the pesticide was banned. They said they had been told that if the harvest was good who knows, some maybe exported!and what would be better news for the pheasant farmers. However they were told that the rice would not be accepted in the international market if certain chemicals were found in the export product; Furadan is one of these products that potential importers will be looking at and the chemical would be found if it is used in planting and tested at the export-import level. “So as long as we are the ones eating the foul cereal someone thinks it is alright!” Further, they said the government had banned it because it was being misused for poisoning lions.

The ‘New friends’ that we talked to. They are using oxen to ready paddy fields; a giant rake-like impliment is attached to the chain and drawn by the oxen along the water-filled plots to remove any debris in the ploughed, soggy earth prior to planting the rice

We upheld the hope of non-eventful bird poisoning incident as the day wore on. With evey one ticking minute and the prospect of a downpour later on in the day almost guaranteed that we would clock the coveted zero figure for bird mortality for the day!

When we were Just about to finish walking the last transect, a flock of Open-billed Storks stirred ahead. No doubt some poachers were rounding them up so that they fly on to their poison bait set up. With the stabilized sunshine after the morning rain the birds had embarked on intensive foraging. Gorging to satiate their hunger hoping to recover lost time while waiting for the heavily pelting rain to subside earlier on and probably trying to beat the immiently warning showers later on. The poachers knew better and took advantage.

Godwits feeding with heads immersed in water

Ruffs feeding in harmony their backs watched by the Curlew and Wood Sandpipers.

An African Spoonbill busy dabbling for food

Just in time for us to take off and avoid getting soaked by the rain, the poachers left the site with 12 Storks and numerous sandpipers

One of the poachers with his catch (poisoned birds) loaded on his back

As we also made off to camp we passed by a dead stork and a farmer’s cutlass and shoes, a sign that the action had been going on for some time before we arrived.

Usually the poachers will not let you take any of their bird for free no matter where the poisoned victim is collected from. This bird must have been a stray bird which in an attempt to get away from the assaulting poachers collapsed to its death in this lucky farmers plot out of its pursuers sight. Such is the case for many other birds of which not all are recovered. A wasteful, brutal technique poisoning is.

And so the days wear on.

Please keep reading.

Technorati : Bird poisoning, Bunyala, Lion, Poacher, Poison

Tags: bird poisoning, Bunyala, Lion, Poacher, poison

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 30 2009 | By: paula

We have just recieved reports that there has been a huge die off of birds at the Thika sewage works just north of Nairobi. This sewage works has been a favourite place for birders as it attracts a huge diversity and massive congregations of birds local and migrants

A team from Ornithology dept NMK in the company Oliver Nasirwa went to the Thika
sewage ponds to assess the reported case of dying birds at the site on the 26th
August 2009.

Ronald Mulwa notes:

“From my assessment and talking to the officers on the ground, the die off cases could
be going down. We found one Sacred Ibis really sick and unable to fly, also found one
Red-billed Teal just dying - apart from that the rest were 1 week old (or so) carcasses -
we assume that some carcasses also get swept away into the sewage outlet.

Though we are working on a more detailed update, the following are the
birds we found dead:
Sacred Ibis - 2 + 1 unable to fly
White-faced Whistling Duck -1
Red-billed Teal - 15
Red-knobed Coot - 5
Hadada Ibis - 2
Black-winged Stilt - sickly and unable to fly 1

We thought this may not be termed ‘Mass Die Offs’ as such, since there were still 100s of birds feeding and actively flying around. But the root cause for the deaths need to be established urgently.

We took samples some carcasses that were in reasonable shape and have been taken to
Kabete Vet Labs this morning. The Cape Teal we found dying had a strange swellings ballooning out of both eyes like bubble! photos available!

The officer in charge was quit concerned, supportive and was keen to be involved in this
assessment and to see the results of the Lab analysis.

We welcome suggestions and further discussion.
Best regards
Mulwa Ronald
Research Scientist Head - Ornithology Section, Zoology Department
National Museums of Kenya
P. O Box 40658 00100
Nairobi Kenya
Tel: 254-20-3742131/3742161 extn 243
Fax: +254-20-3741424 Cell Phone: +254 722499

According to Brian Finch and a report from Oliver Nasirwa of Nature Kenya, the three days between the initial discovery on 23^rd August 2009 and Olivers visit three days later, there was incredible variation in what both parties recorded.

Some of the dead birds disappeared including fifteen dead Spur-winged Plovers, Yellow-billed Ducks, Hottentot Teal, several Ruff and more than five Coot, is a mystery. This could be due to scavenging animals are moving in from the surrounding farmlands, maybe even local dogs.

Brian notes “the difference in live presence which is amazing, our figures
in brackets:

Little Grebe 450    (250)
Sacred ibis 170     (6)
Cattle Egret 5     (nil)
Yellow Billed Stork 13  (1)
Yellow-billed Duck 30   (15)
White-faced Whistling Duck 30   (20)
Red-knobbed Coot 50 (75)
Egyptian Goose 60  (40)
Grey Crowned Crane 12  (4)
Black-winged Stilt 100  (60)
Spur-winged Plover 50  (4 live fifteen dead!!!!)
Common Sandpiper 20 (20)
Curlew Sandpiper 30 (5)
Wood Sandpiper 10  (70)
Marsh Sandpiper 6 (1)
Little Stints 70 (90)
Chlidonias terns 30  (1WWBT)

We also recorded 2 White-backed Duck,  8 Hottentot, 2 Glossy Ibis, 10 Hadada, 2 Long-toed Plover, 6 Blacksmith Plover, 15 Three-banded Plover, 50 Ruff, 2 Green Sandpiper.

I think it erroneous to assume that birds that appear perfectly healthy are not infected and succumb later. Also I think that the difference by the two counts testifies that there is a considerable movement through the ponds, but even the birds that move on south or
wherever could have taken in a fatal dose.

If this were a terrorist situation we would be on a RED not ORANGE alert!”

The hotline to report bird die-offs to the Department of Veterinary Science is 0722-726-682.

To join the Nature Kenya bird group email kenyabirdsnet@yahoogroups.com

Tags: bird poisoning, Birds, Brian Finch, nature Kenya, ornithology, Pesticides, plover, poison, sandpiper, Thika

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 29 2008 | By: Martin Odino

Chris Rollie, RSPB Scotland’s area manager for Dumfries and Galloway, said: “When great efforts are being made to attract visitors to rural areas, the negative message of an illegally poisoned countryside is the last thing we need, while the effect on wildlife is appalling.”

Dumfries and Galoway is notorious and recently this year, four buzzards were found poisoned and baits recovered from the area.

And so the police, the government and RSPB aare at task with investigations given the outrageous raptor poisoning cases tha thave led to calls by a charity for crackdown on bird poisoning.

The charity’s investigations staff received a total of 229 reports of possible persecution incidents in 2007 in Scotland, 16 of which were from the Dumfries and Galloway area.

Tags: bird poisoning, buzzards, Dumfries and Galoway, raptors, RSPB, Scotland

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