According to authorities in the Masai Mara one person has been arrested in connection with the poisoning of a lion, hyenas and many vultures last week.
However, there is growing evidence that Furadan is viewed primarily for pest control in parts of Kenya. I just got this in from a tour operator
” A Maasai friend of mine who is cultivating just outside Narok told me he and his group keep seeing their shambas raided by baboons and some of the group wanted to get rid of the baboons using Furadan. Seems to be the method of choice for Maasai to deal with human / wildlife conflict. I urged him to dissuade his group from doing this”.
We will try to get more specifics on this incident. Meanwhile The Oregon Department of Agriculture has fined five Malheur County onion growers for misusing pesticides not labeled for use on their crops. The civil fines, totaling $180,000, are connected with the application of Furadan and Basagran on 18 fields during the 2008 growing season. Neither Furadan nor Basagran are approved for onions in Oregon. Investigators had found 18 fields with residues of products not labeled for use on onions.
In Kenya there is no regular investigations into proper pesticide use, and we have not found a single case where anyone has ever been found guilty of mis-use, let alone penalised for it.
On Monday a man was shot dead by KWS for killing a black rhino for it’s horn in Laikipia.
It will be interesting to see if KWS or the PCPB will pursuse a case against the criminals involved in the poisoning of lion, hyenas, vultures and baboons in the Mara.
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