Stop Wildlife Poisoning

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

Dear readers,

Time for me to pack up and get to Nairobi for proper medical check up and some good rest. Mwea is pleasant countryside, Mt. Kenya towers in the sky prominently especially in the mornings and evenings for anyone looking around for something such as myself. A vast stretch too and the sun comes down hot and drenching at day time while the night the Malaria vectors come humming closelst itching to inject the deadly plasmodia into your system. It has been Furadan that for many days during the week has dragged me out of bed and got me watching and observing even if it meant sitting at one spot for 8 long hours. But for a few feathers I saw in the remote parts of the rice scheme, a good thing I thought I did not see any signs of bird poison.

What does not look ok is that in prevalent dry conditions, birds would be heavily biased to the wetlands, Mwea has the usual Yellow-billed Storks, Hadada Ibis, Sacred Ibis, Cattle Egret, Intermediate Egret, Black Smith Plover Black-Winged Stilt then the area’s speciality the Yellow-mantled Bishops and the widely distributed Yellow Bishops …and NO DUCKS. One African Fish-Eagle showed up in the skies one day and that was just about it.

I must admit I have been pretty bed-ridden and during the time I kept relying on one local scout’s information. At some point I felt he was demanding a lot of money and when i did not get to give him all of it then I think he would not scout for me. I even felt he would get desparate and stage a poisoning so I just scared him and told him that actually people using the Furadan would be arrested if they were still doing the same and it was known that some scouts who should be informants were known to be also poisoning birds and humans by taking to them the poisoned birds.

I still needed confession from another party of Furadan availability and my target, the irrigation board. I only acknowledged that this is the National Irrigation Board, Mwea Branch. It had other initials that even the person I was to talking to did not know what they stood for. Nonetheless, the board guy told me in whisphers that DUCK poisonig using Furadan still goes on. Rice still in husks is let to soak in Furadan solution and removed and dotted on a raised mound of earth (specifically for purposes of poisoning) in a rice plot. The ducks come to roost but eat the laced rice and drop dead. Like the scout, this board man said the poisoned ducks are sold to drunks and unsuspecting poor homes. I sought to find out where the poachers are still getting tthe Furadan rom when I thought it is withdrawn and he said they buy it still from agrovets. I have made visits to a few agrovets and they do not stock it!

Still housed by the Mwea board is a group called Kirinyaga Wldlife birds conservation group.

Their story is the same. Their recent incident was early morning of 24/06/2009. They found a poacher collecting ducks in a sack. Poisoned by Furadan as usual he said. Well the team was off to showing some tourists where they could shoot ducks for sport hunting. These two killing parties always meet at the duck roosts but for some reason the outlawed is never given away.

Pondering about where Furadan is still coming from, the most recent close up with fairly high resolution leaves me a little puzzled. In a wild, heated up debate with my co-author, Darcy , that we were trying to defend our report (the page Furadan in Kenya)to Juanco and PCPB guys, we picked up one authenticity of the FMC produced and Juanco distributed carbofuran; it would have repetitive diagonal juanco sps in pink and background of label.

This label background looks everything genuine but does not have the pink and diagonal pattern repetition of juanco sps. Counterfeit? Other copy cats? We need a urgent ban on carbofurans!

Tags: furadan, Kenya, Mwea Rice Scheme

3 responses so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jun 22 2009 | By: Martin Odino

I wish to thank our dear readers for your comments and donations hitherto. I am also very sorry for going quiet for almost one week. I assumed that I was fatigued when I came from Bunyala and would handle just alright going to Mwea but I was wrong. just after getting the birds’ test results Mwea Rice Scheme was my stopping point to continue with surveying for Bird Furadan Poisoning. For all those days that has not been possible and I have been on Malaria treatment. I feel better now, a little too weak though but I should update you as from tomorrow, One scout who leads tourists on bird shooting expeditions has informed me that poisoning is on and with mostly Egyptian Geese being poisoned and sold in illicit brew dens.

Will keep you posted.

Tags: Bunyala, Mwea Rice Scheme

3 responses so far

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

Lately I have focused my writing on the blog on my findings in Bunyala, one of the sites falling under rice schemes and recommended for survey as having a serious problem of biodiversity poisoning using furadan following my earlier surveys in 2007 and 2008 (check report on Furadan in Kenya at the top of the stopwildlifepoisoning blog page).

I refer to biodiversity poisoning here much as I have focused on birds because many other animals, domestic and wild die from eating intoxicated birds or the bait intended for wild birds; chicken, dogs, wild & domestic cats, snakes, monitor lizards and may be even humans. The Bunyala surveys funded by the Rufford Small Grants (RSG) whom I wish to highly acknowledge, are aimed at alerting conservation organization, pesticide regulation bodies, manufacturers (FMC in this case)and the world at large of the devastation that furadan as a poison has brought about and continues to bring to wildlife.

While Bunyala surveys are covered by the RSG funds, I wish to admit that other areas may be even experiencing a more serious problem of furadan poisoning than Bunyala continue to suffer lack of attention and publicity and the poachers continue to enjoy reaping biodiversity where they never sowed. I know of this through well wishers’ communication, mostly via email that there is serious bird poisoning in various places.

Two sites have been predominantly reported on- Mwea Rice Scheme and Ahero Rice Scheme. In the post Battling against intoxication , I mentioned that hypothetically rice schemes maintain large stocks of the pesticide, furadan. More disturbing, in Bunyala Rice Scheme, I gathered that the outgrowers are given the pesticide to use in their seedbeds, most of whom end up getting it to poachers I bet for a fee. Then Mwea and Ahero which are rice schemes are also apparently foci for bird poisoning. Well, my conviction gets stronger that my hypothesis is right. That the rice schemes could still be holding on to stockpiles of furadan and therefore indirectly fueling the heineous bird poisoning activity.

We understand that FMC are on with the buyback through JUANCO, the renowned distributor of furadan. May be ending bird poisoning by furadan stands a chance to succeed if JUANCO gets down to rice and may be even other crop irrigation schemes to buy the pesticide. It is in facilitation for the buy back targetting rice schemes that I think it is time I urgently did a baseline survey at Ahero and Mwea rice schemes. This will be similar to what I do in bunyala as highlighted in the post What I am doing in Bunyala but for a shorter time, a sort of model baseline survey for the two sites. At the same time, I will try to establish the situation of furadan at the irrigation schemes’ premises.

I need USD 385 if this survey should be succesful. Kindly help me fundraise for A MONTH OUT WITH BIRDS GETTING POISONED.I have planned for five days at each of the 2 sites in addition to the regular 14 days survey in Bunyala. Between the surveys, there will be 2 days for travel between the distantly located sites. This means a total of 28 days out in the field, which ideally is the whole of the month of June.

Budget

Ahero Rice Scheme Survey

1. Transport costs - USD 30

2. Subsistence - USD 140

3. Communication - USD 15

Subtotal = USD 185

Mwea Rice Scheme Survey

1. Transport costs -USD 45

2. Subsistence - USD 140

3. Communication - USD 15

Subtotal = USD 200

TOTAL = USD 385

In the days that I have witnessed the poisonings, some of the photos I have taken seem to speak deeper. That:

Those birds that are lucky to be alive in the death fields cannot help looking at us for redemption:

Those intoxicated expect rescucitation from a different version of the being that poisoned them; a man not inclined to poisoning.

While those caught up in the dirty poisoning business cannot help hoping for freedom some day; may be even holding out their hands in prayer!

Captive decoys involved in the dirty poisoning business!Acting as Judases against their will!

While those in death pangs, slowly succumbing to the poison can only wish for a quicker, less painfull death.

We can end such genocidal massive deaths of birds.

Hence this sad operation: A MONTH OUT WITH BIRDS GETTING POISONED, hoped to bring more consideration by relevant organizations to the poor birds through sensitization by exposing the broad extent and intensiveness of furadan poisoning to Kenyan birds. I especially hope that PCPB and AAK will appropriately sanction furadan while FMC and JUANCO hasten the buyback of furadan.

Keep returning to this blog for updates.

Tags: Ahero Rice sheme, biodiversity, BunyalaRice Scheme, FMC, furadan, JUANCO, Mwea Rice Scheme, poisoning, Rufford Small Grant

One response so far

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Oct 13 2008 | By: Martin Odino

Biodiversity is faltering the world over as BBC reveals that current trends imply that world governments will fail to meet their agreed targets of curbing biodiversity loss by 2010.

Habitat loss, hunting,pollution and the grande global warming phenomenon have all come down heavily to crush biodiversity to the edge of the limit of survival. These forces are more or less operating in a worldwide scale and should only in a most fair and responsible way be handled by all the states of the world.

But poisoning seems to have a special place especially as far as wiping out birds species is concerned. As I read  National Geographic Channel’s article, Birds in “Big Trouble”Due to Drugs, Fishing,more, I could not stop feeling that poisons must be a nightmare threat capable of wiping out whole species in short time with very minimal room for the reversal of the situation. The article reiterated the catastrophic decimation of the white-rumped asian vultures due to Diclofenac poisoning by up to 99.9% of their original since 1990’s. The whole story can be read in the article Many Asian Vultures Close to Extinction.

Poisoning, which may result from pollution is operating in many regions in the world in remote locations in a most quiet way. I am however concerned by the poisoning of birds particularly in Kenya. While many tend to overlook the killing of birds because they are many, then I must say we are wrong because the kiling is mostly indiscriminate cutting across the flock species as well as the small numbered non-congregating species.

In a walk across the neighbourhood of Bunyala Rice Scheme a while ago,a young man was so determineed to show me a beautiful species that always perched on the cows like Ox-peckers but to his disappointment he could not sight it. I spotted a handful Wattled Starlings on a nearby tree in non-breeding plumage but he vehemently refused that those were not the birds. We went on to ask an elderly man grazing his cattle if he knew and had seen the birds and to his shocking surprise he confided that in a split of time it appeared the birds had vanished. We came to a poisoning site and stumbled on the carcass of a mature male wattled starling in breeding plumage concealed in a grass tuft. This was a poisoning site. From a distance I could see children and young men walking into homes with small hand-washing basins.I could not see any pool wher they may have been washing or drawing water, but why not use buckets to carry the water back to their homes? The young man I was with told me that actually the basins contained the purchased spoils of furadan poisoning which were none other than birds. He said the basins used would actually be much bigger during the peak hunting season during rice planting because the numbers poisoned would also be bigger. It then struck my mind that one conservationist and scout in Mwea Rice Scheme reported that in the 1990’s, poisoned birds quantifiable in pick ups were being ferried away from the rice scheme to unknown markets. What is common to these two sites (Bunyala and Mwea) is that in both cases, it has been reported that Tree Ducks, otherwise Whistling Ducks are almost not to be observed and most probably is because they have suffered heavy mortalities from poisoning.

This was not all. I witnessed one cyclist carrying abour 10 storks in a sack tied on his bicycle rear with  their large bills protruding beyond the sack, which gave them away. We are not just talking of poisoning of a few birds but what I would refer to as birds concentrated in habitats with food abundance thereby drawing as many of their kind as possible, yet the poisoners also give it the best of their poisoning techniques and poisons to catch the most of them-basins, sacks and pick ups of poisoned birds.

As we walked back from the poisoning site, I could not help feeling that the grsslands were more deserted by grassland birds than they should be, given the thickness of the grass density I observed. Deserted or poisoned? Likely, the latter is the justification.

Tags: BBC, biodiversity, Birds, Bunyala Rice Scheme, diclofenac, drug, ducks, Mwea Rice Scheme, National Geographic Channel, poisoniing, Wattled Starling, white-rumped vultures

One response so far

Category: Masai Mara, Uncategorized, carbofuran, lions | Date: Aug 06 2008 | By: Martin Odino

MWEA, SAMBURU, KANO PLAINS, MARA FINDINGS

Hi all. I have been back in the office for 3 days having just toured some of the areas where there has been documentation of carbofuran poisoning. All seems well at the gaze with the full spectacle of the wild animals and birds feeding, playing and even in the act that will culminate in breeding. But is all really well? Indeed it is good news of no poisoning for some places and still bad news of poisoning for others. Nonetheless, for the good news I managed a smile on the last day or is it night of the trip.

Yesterday I received a call alert (‘flash’) from an unfamiliar number. I flashed back but no return flash to signify any urgency. I ignored the number but while I scrolled through my call log to make another call this morning, I stumbled on the number that I was flashed with yesterday. It then struck my mind that I had noted down some numbers during the field trip. I checked my field note book and there I stumbled on it! It belonged to a certain guy in Mwea who I had approached and faked that I needed bird meat. We had then fixed a meeting for early this month. We agreed that he would alert me when he was ready and that he would link me with a bird meat vendor who poisoned the birds. You would not suspect that such a deal can take place in such a place especially given that everybody else seemed busy planting rice.

In the neighbourhood of Kisumu town, in Kano plains, some kilometres past the site that was Ahero Rice Scheme, there is an out grower scheme where locals are growing rice on individual rice plots. During a short stop over, I observed a lot of birds flocked in the place and a couple of farmers were out working in their plots. I talked to one old woman to know if the birds were not a problem at harvest time. She said they were indeed but her grandchildren would chase them away by wails and beating of metal cans. I then asked her if she thought killing of some of the birds would be a solution but she said she did not think it was necessary adding that in any case, birds were being poisoned for meat. I then confirmed that after all, there is poisoning in the area. For a while there was on-going bird poisoning in Ahero Rice Scheme but with the stalling of the operations of the rice scheme, bird congregations have reduced and Furadan supply for use in the irrigation scheme also cut, bringing a cessation in the poisoning frenzy.

Samburu NR seemed all tranquil, with the expected heat dominating the local climatic conditions and emphasizing ‘this is Samburu’. For three days I roamed the reserve with my friend and spotted many carnivores and scavengers. We got to see six lionesses in total but were disturbed that we had spotted no lions absolutely during the three whole-day drives around the national reserve. In fear that poisoning might have taken the lives of quite many of these I ended up talking to an expert in the area who advised me to relax and that the kings of the jungle were around, not always in company of their ‘wives’ and there were strategic localities where these could be found. I was glad the place was safe for the time despite earlier recorded incidences of carnivore poisoning in the area, though she added that she was in the process of getting to find out more about poisoning in the area.

Masai Mara also turned out looking good. I even passed by the Mara Conservancy incognito. The area has had the most recently documented cases of poisoning-this year, 2008. With hippos and lions as the reported victims, both seemed to do just fine. It was captivating witnessing lion/lionesses feasting, playing and in the act of breeding in one encounter.
The lioness below took advantage and got “the lion’s share!”

while the lion paid attention to his queen in an imminently heated up act that would bring forth another generation!

The vultures on the other hand looked good sprawled on the grass, not dead but waiting for thermals.

While others did not mind the flies after an unpoisoned meal.

Generally the presence of the Gnu on the first of their biannual migration to and from (Tanzania for this case) Kenya and Tanzania enhanced the bountifulness of wildlife in the Mara. Isn’t this beautiful?

Keep reading our Wildlife Direct’s blog for the latest in the wildlife poisoning scene.

Tags: Kano Plains, Masai Mara, Mwea Rice Scheme, poisoning, Samburu National Reserve, Wildlife Direct

4 responses so far