Stop Wildlife Poisoning

Category: carbofuran | Date: Jun 18 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Hi readers,

We have results for carbofurn testing from the Government Chemist of the Birds collected from Bunyala in May. 5 out of 6 samples tested positive for carbofuran poisoning.

The samples were collected from Bunyala on the 04/05/2008 and transported frozen overnight to Nairobi. In Nairobi, they coninued to be frozen at the nearest Ornithology lab of the National Museums of Kenya.I submitted them to the KEPHIS labratory on the 08/05/2009 but told the HPLC (recommended modern methodology of testing for carbofuran) facility was not functioning but was being fixed.

I received a letter on 18/05/2009 requiring my confirmation that the samples had been tested at the Veterinary Lab and found free of other pathogens that would be harmful to the technicians handling them at the Analytical Chemistry Lab at KEPHIS. I went to KEPHIS to seek clarification because that is where Pest Control Product’s Board, Agricultural Association of Kenya and FMC together with Juanco had instructed us that we should have our samples analysed before we can blame Furadan for the poisoning of wildlife. I questioned the delay by KEPHIS holding on to the samples when they knew I had to have them checked at veterinary laboratory. They apologized but reminded me everyone was afraid of the Avian Flu and Swine Flu! Avian flu there was reason for concern but I have been involved in the Avian Flu Survellance in Kenya since 2006 and so far we have no incidence reported. I even told them that it would have been witnessed in the chicken in the area, even humans and since nothing of the sort had been seen and all migrants had as good as all flown back north there was no reason for fear. As for Swine Flu????!!!!…. Anyway I knew I could not bypass the lab ethics and just had to do as they commanded. I was upset that even the pesticide regulators, manufacturers and distributors did not mention that Vet lab had to be visited as well. Each of these labs would charge differently for the samples and these justified stakeholders were not going to pay a penny towards this common problem.

I was able to get the samples from KEPHIS on the 25/05/2009 and headed straight for Veterinary Laboratory. I told the officer in charge that I had collected the bird gut samples to be tested for carbofuran poisoning but had been told that I needed verification that the birds’ guts did not pose any health threat to humans. He gave the samples to his junior who came back to ask me what exactly I wanted and that as a matter of fact their facilities were not working. I thought he was the vet and that he knew what relevant procedures were to be applied to test for the security of the tissues! He gave me the other option of travelling back to Bunyala, get the District Veterinary Officer from Busia Town (2 t0 3 hour drive away), pay him per diem and have hm witness the poisoning and rule out any other cause of death before I could deliver the samples to KEPHIS or Vet Lab. He even quickly gave me Busia’s District Veterinary Officer’s contacts. Further, I was given an irrelevant note stating that the Vet Lab was at the moment not of capacity to do any toxicological analysis and requested KEPHIS to go ahead. In the first place they were meant to do Pathological analysis and not toxicological analysis. I was told to try out the various options given to me and I would have a break through. I was lost then ever and a whole day gone without concrete assistance.

I froze the samples overnight at theOrnithology lab at the National Museums of Kenya and delivered them to government first thing the next day, 26/05/2008 and told to check the results after 2 weeks.

Well, the results are now out. I have my field notes of the birds from which we eviscerated the guts.

I had actually formulated my hypothesis of the results to expect. Honestly I expected positive carbofuran results for all the 6 samples (5 guts and 1 bait) but I hypothesized that wounded birds’s gut extracts might not test positive for carbofuran. This is because may be the birds were ambushed by the poachers, knocking them with their clubs before they had eaten substancial amount of bait. well, sample 3 tested positive. I suppose this is because full adult birds have greater resistance for the poison and therefore the bird had consumed quite a bit of the bait but still seemed strong and therefore was clobberedso it does not escape.

Sample 8’s result is the puzzle, being the only sample that tested negative carbofuran testing. I recall its crop was not as full compared to the other birds so may be the contents were not enough to show positivity.

Nonetheless, here’s the certificate for carbofuran poisoning results- analysis.pdf

Tags: Bunyala Poacher, FMC, furadan, Governmnet Chemist, JUANCO, KEPHIS, Natioanl Museums of Kenya, poison

6 responses so far

Category: carbofuran | Date: May 16 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Well, proving furadan pesticide poisoning is one of the most elusive concepts that those who may not be out to witness poisoning are priviledged not to be taunted with.

Saturday, 21:30 hrs in Kenya and I am wondering what happens to my samples lying at KEPHIS laboratory. It has been a week since I submitted them there. That the only national HPLC facility was not working left me with no option but to wait till I am contacted in the week that just ended just before the testing is done. Then I am told till Tuesday next week. The technician sounded convincing that at -20 degrres centigrade, the processes likely to degrade the poison were halted, so I have to wait patiently for 72 more hours.

I witnessed these birds die from eating rice churned in a solution of furadan but still I have to send around 100 USD for each sample to scientifically verify my findings. Well, I find it hard to like science at this point, but it a necessary evil.

Just a recap:

The purple granules of furadan showing in the cavities of some of the snails’ shells

Furadan-laced snails, meant for storks; sticks used to apply the poison into the snails’ shell cavities

A poacher’s foot, kill and poison (Furadan 5G )

Furadan 5G

The sample of rice and furadan granules insolubles collected from the container in which bait was carried.

I bet with the above pieces of evidence, chances that I am wrong are almost none.

I am worried that while the storks eat the snails with the granules, and there is a possibility of finding the purple granules in their guts, seedeaters do not eat the granules! they eat the furadan laced grains that hardly even show the purple colouration, that would be a quick indicator.

In my samles, I did not get a stork’s gut. This is because my surveys last not less than 10 days. It just happened that the last flock of the storks had been poisoned to the last, 2 days earlier. The storks’ availability in the rice scheme is greatly dependent on water availability. With the harvesting having just been completed, the storks had thinned out to only this single flock whose members had been poisoned by the earliest day that I could halt the survey.

I really hope that minus twenty degrees celcius temperature in which my sample are preserved works.

Will keep updating you.

Tags: Bunyala, furadan, HPLC, KEPHIS

No responses yet

Category: carbofuran | Date: May 09 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Just yesterday, I submitted samples brought back from the field for furadan testing at the recommended lab-KEPHIS- by our local Pest Control Products Board (PCPB), Crop Life Kenya. (Agrochemical Association of Kenya hence AAK) and FMC. It was disturbing listening to the expert who received them wondering loudly why I had not taken them to Government Chemist, the laboratory whose methodology was doubted by the above concerned bodies.

Frankly I could not help but wonder if this was not part of frustrating our efforts to provide evidence of furadan poisoning by the above titan bodies as far as the poison furadan is concerned. Surely, the effects of this pesticide have reached emergency levels and these guys should give proper directives for common good.

Are we just wasting time and money only to be later told that KEPHIS again is not a qualified lab? the expert at KEPHIS acknowledged that they were equiped with equipment to use HPLC, a methodology whose results are precise, as told by the FMC person at our meeting. he however said they did not have a proper pathology lab to handle animal tissues and only Government Chemist had this facility and were ‘fit’ to handle the guts of the poisoned birds. Well, I will be getting the final word from KEPHIS this week and I will ensure the samples get tested.

Getting these samples from the field has been one of the toughest challenges I have faced in this survey:

The geographical location of Bunyala in Kenya is in proximity of Lake Victoria about 10 kilometres away from the nearest lakeside port, Sio Port. Also, the equator is located not so far from here. Given these geographical conditions, humidity and temperature are almost at uncomfortable, high levels, not so favourable if dead bird samples are to be kept fresh.

Bunyala is also remote. Electricity is found in a few ldistant ocalities, while others, including where we camp still remain in the almost total natural darkness but for a few tin lamps that attempt to reduce the depth of darkness. A necessary commodity, ICE which requires electricity for it to be made and that should help preserve the tissue samples from dead birds remain fresh is therefore unavailable in the nearest shopping center.

Well, I had to beat this challenge of high temperatures exceeding 30 degrees celcius on the average. The previous day, I had someone take the cool box and ice substitute to have them readied at the next nearest shopping center where I paid a soda vendor about USD 5 to prepare some ice for me and have the ice substitute frozen . I would get the cool box and ice once we had the samples.

We got to the field as early as always but there was no sign of poisoning. My assistants however located a poacher laying out bait in the farthest western end of the rice scheme. We sped to get on our usual job of identifying and counting the living and dead birds. In one and a quarter hours, the poacher was done. Since the poisoned birds were his property, I could not lay a hand on the poisoned at will. I therefore purchased 9 birds for USD 1.25. He had poisoned 64 doves and pigeons, in total.

Brutality in life and in death! The above birds were tied by their necks to make it easy for us to carry them. That is my assistant carrying them. I would have wanted to carry them in the comfortable ringer’s grip, but I bet my two hands would not have managed to carry all of them.

We sped back to camp for a quick evisceration process, since the gut contents were my interest. I took notes on the dead birds and we got down to opening them up.Thanks to my efficient assistants who did the job quickly. Meanwhile, I had hired somebody to get the cool box and ice and he arrived just in time for us to start opening up the first bird. By 1300 hrs, we were finished and my samples ready for transportation.

A sample of the poison concortion showing dull purple furadan granules (the solute that remains after trying to dissolve furadan) and rice in husks in a bottle; dissecting kit and the cool box with the samples.

It took four hours to get to the bus station where I would get a bus to travel back to Nairobi where I would get proper freezing facilities and also the samples would be analysed. The night was cool and therefore the ice survived through the 10 hour journey.

2 days since, the samples are now in the the testing lab. Soon enough, we will have the results.

The frozen samples just before I submitted them to the testing lab.

Will keep updating you. Please keep reading.

Tags: AAK, Bunyala, FMC, furadan, Government Chemist, Kenya, KEPHIS, PCPB, Poacher, poisoning

One response so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Apr 20 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Dear readers, I am obligated to thank you all for your support hitherto. Thank you for visiting to read this blog and commenting and advising accordingly. I want to very specially also thank those of you who have donated towards this blog’s cause - to end wildlife poioning. In particular I want to recognize those donors whose email contacts I do not have and have therefore not been able to thank them personally. I am going to be using your donations for laboratory charges for testing of poisoned bird specimen brought back from the field during the April-May survey. I leave for the field this Friday 24/04/2009,and will update you on the latest from Bunyala as well as notify you on the lab testing proceedings.

A lot remains undone, especially with the campaign entering the MONITORING FOR FURADAN phase. We still need to sample agrovet stores for availability of the withdrawn pesticide by FMC. Further, not all sites, for instance are being monitored, but through your continued support I, with Wildlife Direct’s patron support, can put in place a more thorough monitoring system through supportive manpower. Mwea Irrigation Rice Scheme, a long-time bird poisoning site remains not consistently monitored. Yet there the poisoning of birds is even more secretive than Bunyala with the poisoned birds being sold to nearby low cost cafes. It is alleged that wild ducks are collected in sacks to be distributed to these eating spots.

Following our meeting with FMC last week where various concerned ecologists gathered at Wildlife Direct’s board room to meet the FMC’s representatives, it turned out that we need to have more and more of our samples tested to satisfy our local pesticide regulation bodies-Pest Control, Products Board (PCPB)and Agrochemical Association of Kenya (AAK) or Crop Life, Kenya. FMC blatantly claimed that we must make our observations scientific. In essence, they were saying that they need hard evidence of tested samples, not appreciating the fact that the costs of testing these samples are very high. Please read more about the meeting with FMC on the post Our meeting with fmc Baraza Blog.

From the meeting again, it became apparent that testing the samples at the Government Chemist Laboratory I mentioned in the post, Striving for better post-furadan poisoning days-Part 2, would possibly result in the laboratory findings not being accepted, at least by the standards of FMC, PCPB and AAK. This means we have to do our sample analysis at a different lab. The lab of choice is the KEPHIS lab-Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services. But the costs are way higher here, though the methodology and standards of the laboratory are of world class level. Each sample will cost about USD100. So, I am even still short of finances if I must get all my 10 samples from Bunyala tested. So this is the situation.

Please keep supporting me through reading, commenting and donating and…

end this barbaric poisoning frenzy and…

brighten the lives of the birds; both big and Small!

Tags: AAK, Bunyala, FMC, furadan, Government Chemist, KEPHIS, Mwea Rice Irrigation Scheme, PCPB, poisoning, Wildlife Direct

One response so far