Stop Wildlife Poisoning

Category: Masai Mara, Pesticides, carbofuran, lions | Date: Nov 01 2009 | By: paula

WildlifeDirect has been raising the alarm about cattle in Kenya’s parks for some time know - cattle grazing in the park will lead to conflict with lions and this has an inevitable outcome. CAttle will die and then lions will be killed  in retaliation.  We warned of diseases when cattle started dying in the parks, and Dino wrote about it in his blog dudu diaries here.  The authorities ignored our comments and concerns about the cattle invasion when we warned that an Anthrax outbreak would affect cattle, wildlife and people.  I even went on radio about it and finally it seems, people woke up and began to listen.

In a recent article in the Daily Nation, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) admitted that

“A total of 10 lions have been killed by herders who have lost their cattle to the large cats. In one case, farmers poisoned a carcass and it left for the lions. It killed not just a lion, but also 300 vultures that ate the carcasses of the cow and the lion”.

No doubt these ten lions were from one pride and were poisoned. The loss of 300 vultures suggests that the poisoning was widespread - this could not have been just one incident.We will try to get details on what actually happened and determine if carbofuran was to blame.

The head of the Species Program, Mr Omondi,  warned herders that they should expect to lose some of their animals if they choose to break the law and let them graze in protected areas.

The problem of livestock in game reserves which WildlifeDirect raised on Kiss FM Radio as well as through our blogs is so serious that it has consumed the greatest budget line for KWS during recent months.

The KWS says that the greatest challenge it faces is that in Reserves like the Maasai Mara, the management authority, the Narok County Council, turns a blind eye to the herders. Sadly the same is true of KWS who have for years allowed grazers into parks during annual dry seasons.To date we do not know of a single herder that has been prosecuted for illegal grazing, or of poisoning lions, vultures, hyenas or other animals.

This story reveals just how difficult it is for KWS to control the situation and protect Kenya’s lions.  Lions live mainly in areas that are not under KWS control. Many protected areas are poorly managed. There is nothing stopping herders from entering parks and reserves - even if one is caught, there are no penalties. Moreover, there are no incentives for communities to protec t lions and other wildlife outside of the protected areas. When  livestock are killed, the KWS is supposed to compensate owners, but this is a lengthy and controversial if not poorly managed process. Add tho this the easy access to pesticides like deadly carbofuran and any pastoralist can solve the problem of predation in an instant. Just a few granules of the purple killer will deal with an entire pride plus any other stragglers or plike hyenas.

Tags: Africa, carbofuran, FMC, furadan, Kenya, KWS, Lion, lion poisoning, lions, Maasai, Masai Mara, Pesticides, predators, Wildlife, Wildlifedirect

2 responses so far

Category: Hippopotamus, Masai Mara, Pesticides, carbofuran, lions | Date: Oct 14 2009 | By: paula

By rob

Music provided by Kevin McLeod incompetech.com - to all you out there who have stood by us we  Thank you! Your support gives us strength.

Tags: carbofuran, FMC, furadan, Kenya, KWS, Lion, lion guaridans, lions, Martin Odino, Masai Mara, Paula Kahumbu, Richard Leakey, Wildlifedirect

11 responses so far

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

3 responses so far

Category: Pesticides, carbofuran, lions | Date: Sep 23 2009 | By: paula

Sad news, we’ve just heard that five more lions have died as a result of pesticide poisoning. We are waiting for results. The Kenya Wildlife Service has come out loud and clear about the role that Furadan is playing in the killing of lions.This graph says it all. Of the 100 lions killed in the last 12 months, 34% were poisoned with Furadan and another 8% with other pesticides and 2% with strychnine (a rodenticide). These data show that pesticide poisoning of lions is the number 1 cause of mortality for lions in Kenya.

I have even more bad news. Enoch has just came back from Tanzania and brought me a gift - a 200 g package of Furadan purchased a local Agrovet Store. It cost 2,700TZ shillings that’s $1.50.

The package says it is distributed by Juanco SPS ltd which is based in Nairobi, Kenya,  and the  date of manufacture is November 2008.

If you recall, FMC the manufacturer of Furadan announced to us on April 15th 2009 in Nairobi that they had not sent any product  to Kenya since May 2008.

“When allegations surfaced in the spring of 2008 in the Maasai Mara region, we immediately stopped the introduction of any additional Furadan into the sales channel in Kenya“

If you read the minutes carefully you will note that FMC asked us to submit all incident reports involving Furadan pesticide poisoning  to the Pests Control Products Board in Kenya. We do this and we copy to FMC diligently. However, to date we have had no response from the PCPB - they have not investigated a single incident that we reported, but yet they claim that they suspect we are tampering with samples and incidents. Indeed I was asked if I expected anyone to believe that the public were eating birds poisoned with furadan. If only they would take the short trip to Bunyala or Ahero to see for themselves! I’m sorry but their attitude just feels down right irresponsible.

It’s true, it is an offence to misuse any pesticide product according to the Pests Control Products Act, however, the PCPB is responsible for assessing and evaluating pest control products. Teh Board may refuse to register a pst control product if in its opinion the use of the product would lead to unacceptable risk or harm to things in relation to its intended use, or public health, plants, animals or the enviroment. The Board can suspend or revoke a certificate of registration if new information has become available tot eh board which renders the pest control product unsafe or dangerous.  We have looked at a number of websites and we believe that carbofuran cannot be used safely in Kenya where most farmers do not use protective gear, are sometimes illiterate and are often untrained.

The World Health Organization (WHO) data sheet on pesticides no. 56 which is about carbofuran states that all workers must be medically examined, wear full protective gear including respirators and that “all formulations must carry labeling DANGER - POISON” with skull and cross bones.

The US Environmental Protection Agency EPA says that “dietary, worker and ecological risks are unacceptable for all uses of carbofuran”

Sadly the Kenyan PCPB are not willing to listen, they have not responded to our reports and claim that we are fabricating the photographs and evidence that is contained in these blogs. For this reason they claim, they will not investigate. Hang on, doesn’t that sound odd? If they suspect I’m fabricating data then why not prove it and then discredit everything I’m saying? Thankfully the media are not convinced that I’m a compulsive liar and judging from recent reports, there is growing concern about this.

It is very depressing that the Kenya government which has already overseen such suffering of people continue to let us down. It is even sadder that the worlds richest nation bans toxic pesticides to protect it’s own population, but sees no wrong in sending them to poor countries like Kenya.

Tags: furadan, Kenya, KWS, Lion, lion poisoning, lions, Tanzania, wildlife poisoning, Wildlifedirect, wildlifepoisoning

3 responses so far

Category: carbofuran | Date: Sep 22 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Dear readers,

I have been underground for a while! I mean to apologize but…. I am still on with the business of ending wildlife poisoning. I will be back soon with stories at my study site in Bunyala.

The blog title above not only rekindles hope that the remaining stocks of Furadan are now getting depleted but also confirms that FMC indeed upholds ethics by pulling off their supplies of the chemical as the only proper measure to follow lions’, birds’ and other biodiversity outcries of being decimated by carbofuran. And what else could be an affirmation than FMC executives’ words that indeed they have not supplied any Furadan to Kenya since August 2008! and an invigorated buy back underway starting March 2009! This was at the meeting with the Stop Wildlife Poisoning Task Force at Wildlife Direct on 15th April 2009.

But the blog post Lion Poisoning in Tanzania just challenges the reassuring words above. The post contents are words from our informant and colleague who also sent along a pdf. document of the scanned label of the Furadan pack they purchased from one of the Agrovet stores in Tanzania. The pdf speaks volumes! Please look at the 1st page of the sent furadan-label.pdf by our informant for the details I will give below.

JUANCO is East Africa’s distributor of FMC-manufactured Furadan. FMC proclaimed they stopped distributing ‘their’ Furadan to Kenya (essentially to East Africa) around May 2008. The manufacture date on the label pdf reads November 2008. Zoom the document and you will see the date as well as repeated ‘JUANCO’ underwritten in faint brown on the user information in bold black. The underwritting is JUANCO’s ‘water mark’ and therefore authenticates that the product is distributed by JUANCO in this case after being supplied from FMC.

If the product was manufactured in November 2008, there is a likelihood that the product was distributed this year (2009). It means Furadan supply was not halted in May 2008 and there might be on going distribution by the company in question especially due to the fact that there are collosal stocks in the neighbouring countries, Uganda and Tanzania (Furadan is available, for the case of Uganda). Yet again birds continue to be taken down in Bunyala in thousands by the poison with a ghost source but with labels on its containers certainly pointing to JUANCO. Worst case scenario is rebuying to resupply, God Forbid!

The poison’s supply withdrawal and buy back just have not alleviated the situation so far….or are they in effect?!

Technorati : Bunyala, FMC, Furadan, JUANCO, Kenya, Lion, Tanzania, Uganda, Wildlife Direct

Tags: Bunyala, FMC, furadan, JUANCO, Kenya, Lion, Tanzania, Uganda, Wildlife Direct

One response so far

Category: Masai Mara, Pesticides, carbofuran, lions | Date: Sep 18 2009 | By: paula

Dear Friends, this report is just in from Arusha from a colleague. We will get photos shortly.

“I met a guy who confessed that Furadan has been recently (2weeks ago)
used to kill 5 lions around Serengeti. TANAPA are investigating and
they have taken samples of the dead lions to establish the actual
poison. The story was; the lions killed a giraffe near a maasai boma.
The Maasai, fearing the lions would attack their livestock after
finishing the giraffe, they laced the remaining giraffe carcass with
furadan. That evening the lions came back and 5 of them were found
dead near there the following morning!! There is a lot of Furadan in
Arusha. I bought a 500 gms from the Tanzania farmers association shop
at an equivalent of $15. Kisamo (TANAPA) promised he would share the
lab findings of the samples once they are out. He will also send us
the photos when he gets them from the guys who went to the ground when
the incident occurred! I am sure we won’t win the battle if Tanzania
still has the furadan distributed by JUANCO from Nairobi.”

Tags: carbofuran, furadan, Lion, lions, Masai Mara, pesticide poisoning, Pesticides, Serengeti, Wildlifedirect

2 responses so far

Category: Pesticides, carbofuran, lions | Date: Sep 16 2009 | By: paula

This report just came in from Tanzania

“Most of the agro shops have Furadan in Kampala. It is in KISORO as well right next to the Gorillas. I have samples of a blue powder from the Game Dept in Uganda taken at the site of poisonings .

There have been bad kill off of hyena and vultures. The game Dept in Uganda has lots of info,  pics and test results of lion poisoning .  They cant afford expensive testing but they know when it is carbofuran poisoning as the guts are like jello.  It is going to get to the GORILLAS. I just know it .They are only a few miles away and come into the agro fields to feed . I was with them in Uganda and DR CONGO ..

Very few raptor birds left in Uganda. Saw only 3 vultures in 2wks.

We just cant loose any more wild life to poisoning.”

Tags: furadan, Lion, lion poisoning, lions, wildlife poisoning, Wildlifedirect, wildlifepoisoning

3 responses so far

Category: Pesticides, carbofuran, lions | Date: Sep 15 2009 | By: paula

We just received this from someone who wants to remain anonymous

I checked out Furadan sales in the town of Arusha. We found it in the first store we went to. And, lots of it, available in 200 gm, 500 gm and 1 kilo amounts. We asked what it was used for and the first response was for crops. Probing a little, we then asked why would we see it out in livestock areas where we work. Response, without hesitation, was it is used to poison lions and hyenas and other predators. A number of other stores were checked and they all said that they carried Furadan, were currently out of stock, but would have more on Monday. So, it is a hot item and still being restocked.

We purchased 200 gm for $1.30 and have scanned and attached the label here. Interesting to note it was manufactured November 2008. Mentions the distributor in Kenya as well. My feeling is that it is still readily available and very popular amongst smaller, local communities here in Tanzania.

I can tell you that we have lost at least 10 lions in the last 6 months to poisoning in the Tarangire ecosystem. A colleague of mine obtained a poison sample, but it was not large enough for adequate testing.

Tags: carbofuran, furadan, Lion, lion poisoning, lions, pesticide, wildlife poisoning, Wildlifedirect

4 responses so far

Category: Masai Mara, Pesticides, carbofuran, lions | Date: Jun 04 2009 | By: paula

KWS highly suspect that Furadan (carbofuran) was used to kill the lion, hyenas and 36 vultures in the Masai Mara on the 25th June. Although sample analysis had not yet been concluded, all signs point to Furadan. We applaud KWS and the Narok warden of the Mara for taking such swift action on this incident and for arresting the perpetrators of this destruction. Our own inquiries suggest that up to 8 other lions of this pride my have been affected by this poisoning incident, though this has not been confirmed.

AP put out this press release today

MASAI MARA, Kenya - Kenya’s 2,000 lions are at grave risk from repeated drought and a poisonous pesticide that wildlife officials on Thursday blamed for at least 76 deaths since 2001.

The problems have contributed to the country’s lion population falling by 700 in the last six years, said Charles Musyoki, a senior scientist with the Kenya Wildlife Service. The figures were based on counts carried out every two years.

Officials in the protected 1,510-sq. kilometers (585-sq. miles) of the Masai Mara National Reserve showed an Associated Press reporter on Wednesday the remains of an 8-month-old lion and 36 dead vultures that fed on a tainted cow carcass.

Government scientists are still analyzing samples to determine the poison that killed the animals.

Government scientists say that at least 76 lions have been killed since 2001 after eating prey contaminated by a pesticide marketed as Furadan by Philadelphia-based FMC Corp.

FMC Corp. did not immediately return phone and e-mail messages seeking comment Thursday.

The pesticide is used in Kenya to control insects on crops such as corn, rice and sorghum.

Pesticide imports stopped
Forestry and Wildlife Minister Noah Wekesa told Parliament on Tuesday that FMC has stopped the importation of Furadan into Kenya.

KHALIL SENOSI / AP Warden James Sindiyo at the remains of an 8-month-old lion and 36 vultures in Masai Mara National Reserve.

FMC has said it stopped sales of Furadan to Kenya following a report in May 2008 that the pesticide may have been involved in poisoning lions and has instituted a buyback program in Kenya to remove any remaining product from the market.

Musyoki said that herdsmen were also killing lions to protect their livestock that share the large semi-arid reserves with the lions.

The official said the herdsmen had to be taught the importance of the animals to the economy. Tourists flock to the country to see Kenya’s big five — the lion, buffalo, elephant, leopard and rhino.

“I don’t foresee a time when we can eliminate the lion-human conflict but we can minimize it,” said Musyoki. “The only bank account a pastoralist has is his animal. If a lion kills two cows out of four … that is like the disappearance of 50 percent of his account.”

Tags: carbofuran, FMC, furadan, Lion, lion killing, lions, Masai Mara, Wildlifedirect

5 responses so far

Category: carbofuran | Date: May 26 2009 | By: Martin Odino

(Dear readers, I apologize the Furadan Poisoned Pigeon video was disabled from You Tube for some reason and is unavailable on this post at the moment. We are however doing everything possible to re-embed it . please leep reading the other posts in the meantime).

The Mara Lion poisoning post with the poisoned lion video was about the first write up on our blog. Watching the wobbling lion struggling to be on its feet in this first post in every respect is now retraced by the Speckled pigeon struggling to be on its feet, yet again on its wings in this video.

The pigeon put up a spirited fight against intoxication from Furadan: difficulty in breathing hence panting, strings of mucous from its beak and operculum (nostrils) and stiffened wing and leg joints. It’s all in the following video clip.

The pigeon died. Thanks to Furadan.

Tags: Bunyala, furadan, Lion, Mara, poisoning

6 responses so far