Stop Wildlife Poisoning

Category: Pesticides, carbofuran | Date: Nov 09 2009 | By: paula

This really good article from Tree hugger explains the benefits of the carbofuran ban in USA

As of the end of the year, one more pesticide will be absent from food crops grown in the United States.

In May the EPA ruled that the current residue limits of the insecticide carbofuran on food crops was too high, and the agency has now decided to fully revoke carbofuran tolerances (more commonly known as residue limits). What this means is no carbofuran residue on a food will be deemed acceptable as of 2010. The move follows in the footsteps of the European Union, which banned carbofuran nearly a year ago. But the U.S. ban isn’t all that surprising–it has, after all, been three years in the making.

What Is Carbofuran?

Carbofuran is a white crystalline solid insecticide used to control nematodes, rootworm, and beetles. It is sprayed on soil and plants, just after the plants emerge from the ground. Carbofuran is used on a number of crops, including alfalfa, rice, grapes, and corn.

While there is no evidence to suggest carbofuran is carcinogenic, the World Health Organization has determined carbofuran a cholinesterase inhibitor, which means it blocks neural transmissions.

The health effects of short-term exposure to carbofuran include headache, sweating, nausea, diarrhea, chest pain, blurred vision anxiety, and muscle weakness, all of which can be reversed, according to the EPA. But the long-term effects are far more serious: permanent damage to the nervous system and the reproductive system.

For the average person who does not work with carbofuran, exposure routes include both residues on foods and drinking water contamination from farm runoff.

Cabrofuran is also a problem for wildlife. Earlier this year, reports emerged that carbofuran is responsible for poisoning of African lions.

The Benefits of Going Carbofuran-Free

The move will minimize risks to agricultural workers and the environment, but it will also improve food safety, says Steve Ownes, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances:

The evidence is clear that carbofuran does not meet today’s rigorous food-safety standards. [The] EPA has carefully evaluated the scientific issues and has provided more than 500 days of public comment on this decision. It is now important to move forward with the needed public health protections, especially for children.

The move also helps keep carbofuran out of fresh water sources, which has been on the EPA radar.

Carbofuran Cancellation Timeline

The move to revoke carbofuran residue limits was a long and careful process that weighed the risks against the benefits of using the insecticide.

In 2006, the EPA identified considerable dietary, occupational, and ecological risks related to the use of carbofuran. The agency decided the risks outweighed the benefits of using the pesticide, and set out to cancel the use of the pesticide.

In January 2008, the EPA submitted a draft Notice of Intent to Cancel use of carbofuran to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Scientific Advisory Panel and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Following review from the FIFRA panel and the USDA, the EPA decided to move forward with canceling the use of carbofuran.

In March 2009, FMC Corporation, which produces carbofuran, voluntarily canceled uses, with the exception of use on field corn, potatoes, pumpkin, sunflowers, pine seedlings, and spinach grown for seed. Artichokes were supposed to be given a two-year phase-out period.

On October 30, 2009, the EPA announced all crops would be subject to the December 31, 2009 deadline for revoking carbofuran tolerances, doing away with previous phase-out plans.

According to an EPA press release, the agency is currently encouraging growers to prepare to switch to “safer pesticides or other environmentally preferable pest control strategies,” adding that carbofuran should not be applied to food crops after the end of the year, in order to comply with the new standards.

Tags: Africa, carbofuran, conservation, death, farming, furadan, Kenya, pesticide poisoning, Pesticides, Wildlife, wildlife poisoning, Wildlifedirect

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Category: Pesticides, carbofuran | Date: Nov 06 2009 | By: paula

Dear friends,

We can confirm the tragic reports of a human death due to carbofuran poisoning. Just today we spoke on phone with the heartbroken father of a child who died of Furadan poisoning. The report of this death first appeared on Kenya’s The Standard newspaper on Friday, 30 October 2009 saying that on Monday, 26 October 2009, the child had mistakenly ingested Furadan and died.

The child’s father informed us that the child died on arrival at the Cherangani Nursing Home in Trans Nzoia East District in western Kenya. The father had bought the pesticide four months ago for use in killing insects in the soil when preparing his vegetable nursery. He says that he was not aware how dangerous the product is and was not informed by the retailer about the first aid approach in case of pesticide ingestion. He gave his child milk and crushed eggs - a method of dealing with poisoning widely used in Africa - instead of water as the label says.

This tragedy could have been avoided - the father, an educated man  (he is a teacher at a local primary school) did not get the impression that this pesticide was deadly. The packaging in kenya does not carry teh universal symbol of death - the skull and crossbones.

Please join us in sending our sincere condolences to the parents of 3 year old Kimutai, and pray that he rests in peace.

We hope that Kimutai did not die in vain and that the Kenyan government takes appropriate action by baning carbofuran in Kenya immediately.

Tags: Africa, carbofuran, conservation, death, farming, furadan, Kenya, pesticide poisoning, Pesticides, Wildlife, wildlife poisoning, Wildlifedirect

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Category: Organophosphates, Uncategorized | Date: Nov 06 2009 | By: paula

In a recent statement the FMC responded to the rebroadcasting of the CBS 60 Minutes show on the poisoning of lions.

Note my comments in bold italics against their claims reproduced here

In The News

· We expanded our contact with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Africa to improve reporting of suspected poisonings.July 26, 2009 FMC Response to 60 Minutes Rebroadcast of Story on Kenyan Lion Poisonings

Apart from the Masai Wildlands Trust we are not aware of any other NGO’s that FMC are talking to in Kenya and FMC have not responded to any of the incident reports sent and Linda Froelich has stopped responding  to our emails

On Sunday, July 26, CBS News 60 Minutes rebroadcasted a story on the human-wildlife conflict in Kenya that reports Furadan®, an FMC insecticide, has become the preferred product that many cattle herders use to poison lions that kill their livestock. As we stated when the story first aired in March, FMC strongly condemns the misuse of its products that are clearly intended to be used for crop protection. We are very concerned about allegations that the product has been used illegally to kill wildlife. The company has taken several actions to address the situation including:

· Stopped all sales of Furadan to Kenya immediately after learning of an incident in May 2008.

· Initiated a Furadan buy-back program in Kenya in March 2009 to remove any remaining product from the market. Our distributor and conservation groups, such as the Maasailand Preservation Trust, report that Furadan is no longer stocked in Agrovet stores.

This is not true. Carbofuran remains available throughout Kenyan Agrovets.

The distributors website (Juanco) does not mention that Furadan is toxic to human beings and must be handled with great care.   We believe that the impression given through the label is that Furadan is a safe product.  Juanco now markets itself as safe through the tag line promise ‘Juanco going biological’.

· FMC’s distributor discontinued Furadan sales into Tanzania and Uganda in April 2009. Packages of Furadan in Tanzanian agrovet stores show that carbofuran is still coming into Tanzania from imports via Kenya

· FMC has offered to subsidize Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) lab analysis of samples of animals suspected to have been poisoned with Furadan. The KEPHIS lab uses a more expensive but substantially more sensitive analytical test than other Kenyan labs.

We have seen nothing in writing to confirm this and the KEPHIS laboratories seem oblivious of this. They have refused to test our samples 

· FMC has requested all information about suspected wildlife poisonings from the Kenyan Wildlife Service under their official procedures.

The official procedure is not to report to FMC but to the Pest Control Products Board in Kenya (PCPB) who have not met with KWS or conservationists to discuss concerns. Neither the PCPB nor FMC have responded to any of our submitted reports. On phone the PCPB CEO insisted that the data collected did not constitute facts that they could go on - dates, locations, photographs of incidents, samples collected, confessions. 

In April, FMC sent a second team to Kenya (first team was sent in March 2008) to get a more comprehensive understanding of intentional misuse of chemicals in the longstanding human-wildlife conflict. The team met with several NGOs as well as government officials from both the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). The NGOs made a firm commitment to report all suspected cases of lion poisonings involving Furadan directly to the government and to FMC. To help encourage accurate reporting, we sent the NGOs specific information on what to look for if witnessing a poisoning event or if poisoned animals are found as well as our offer to subsidize lab analyses through KEPHIS. We continue to strongly encourage NGOs to include substantiated evidence to support their reports to government and FMC on suspected Furadan intoxications.

FMC is a global company dedicated to delivering innovative products that improve the lives of people around the world. We take tremendous pride, not only in our products, but in our stewardship programs. We will continue to work with the Kenyan government, agricultural industry and conservation groups to try to prevent the misuse of Furadan and any other pesticides used to kill wildlife.

From where we sit FMC make gross exaggerations about their stewardship programs in third world countries. FMC are aware of the scale of misuse of Furadan in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana and other countries. FMC do not monitor whether Furadan is being used safely by farmers or test for contamination of groundwater or test for residues on crops produced and sold in local markets. Whatever information FMC has on the impact of Furadan on workers, consumers, users and the environment are not shared with any of the conservation organizations concerned about this product.

Furadan use is not restricted in East Africa. Users of Furadan can buy this deadly product over the counter for a very small fee throughout East Africa. Users are not registered, trained nor warned about the dangers of misuse, spills or symptoms of poisoning. It is sold in Agrovets (kiosks) by non professionals and in locatiosn that do not have effective poison control mechanisms, poison treatment centers, toxicology centers, residue monitoring of products, safe poison disposal mechanisms, pesticide monitoring or enforcement systems in place. FMC knows that Agrovets in East Africa actively offer Furadan to buyers as “Lion kille”. They have done nothing to raise local awareness about the dangers and penalties of misuse. Despite the evidence sent to FMC and the PCPB, no Kenyan has been charged and found guilty of Furadan misuse.

We invite FMC to reconsider the impact of their product on users, consumers and wildlife in Africa and withdraw the product completely and dispose of it safely while discontinuing the production of so dangerous a pesticide. The Kenyan pest control board have responded negatively to reports sent to them and declared that they will not investigate reports made by WildlifeDirect. The FMC could help by insisting that these investigations be carried out.

Tags: Africa, carbofuran, conservation, FMC, furadan, Kenya, pesticide poisoning, pestsicides, Wildlife, wildlife poisoning, Wildlifedirect

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Category: Pesticides, carbofuran | Date: Nov 05 2009 | By: paula

The implications of the revocation of carbofuran tolerances which we reported previously will spread well beyond USA as it will affect all food imports. This note is from an article in WildifeExtra

The Worldwide implications of carbofuran ban in USA

“The revocation of all food tolerances has international implications, as imports of rice, coffee, bananas and sugarcane were previously allowed to contain residues of carbofuran,” said Dr. Fry of the  “After this revocation, countries wishing to export these foods to the US must stop using carbofuran on these four major crops.”

Dr. Michael Fry, is the American Bird Conservancys Director of Conservation Advocacy

It will be very hard for African governments to ignore this.  Kenya in particular will be affected because it is a major exporter of coffee to USA.

Tags: Africa, carbofuran, conservation, furadan, Kenya, pesticide poisoning, pestsicides, Wildlife, wildlife poisoning, Wildlifedirect

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Category: Pesticides, carbofuran | Date: Nov 05 2009 | By: paula

We have been talking mostly about the misuse of  carbofuran in Africa and we sometimes feel despondent at the hopelessness of the situation facing lions, hyenas, vultures and other animals not to mention African farmers and consumers. In Africa carbofuran is easily available over the counter,  it is very cheap and is an extremely effective at killing pests.

Well it’s not that easy to get your hands on carbofuran in UK and USA but the fact that it’s such an effective killer motivates some people to misused it there  also.

Here is a list of the most recent incidents

Texas man sentenced for poisoning wildlife

Eric Laney Bryant, 45, of Raymondville, who operated a hunting guide service, injected the registered restricted-use pesticide Carbofuran into deer meat and placed the poisoned bait on his property in January 2009 in an effort to kill coyotes.

The Missouri Department of Conservation found three dead domestic dogs, several dead coyotes, a dead gray fox, a dead skunk, a dead red-tailed hawk and three dead American crows on his property.

He was found guilty and was ordered to pay a $500 fine after pleading guilty to all three counts of poisoning wildlife in Texas County.

Rare red kite poisoned with carbofuran in UK

Oct 21: The body of the female Red Kite was found by a member of the public in woodland in Lindley Green near Otley.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said the bird initially survived after being shot but died as a result of poisoning with carbofuran which has been banned in the UK since 2001.

Pc Gareth Jones said: “This case demonstrates bird of prey persecution in North Yorkshire is still occurring.”

Cats killed with carbofuran in UK

On September 13^th a cat killer used carbofuran to poison a teenager’s pets. The SSPCA is urging pet owners not to approach anyone they suspect of poisoning animals. Anyone with information should contact the SSPCA’s animal helpline on 03000 999 999.

We hope that all the culprits are brought to book and that the ban on carbofuran can go beyond USA ures and to the heart of the operation - the production of this deadly poison should be stopped.

Tags: Africa, carbofuran, conservation, furadan, Kenya, pesticide poisoning, pestsicides, Wildlife, wildlife poisoning, Wildlifedirect

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Category: Pesticides, carbofuran | Date: Oct 15 2009 | By: paula

I am very sad that the CEO of the Kenyan Pest Control Products Board (PCPB), Mrs Gladys Maina cannot have a serious conversation with us about carbofuran poisoning in Kenya. She appears to be bitterly angry that WildilfeDirect has called for a ban on this product. This does not make a lot of sense to me since her job is not to protect the agrochemical industry but to protect consumers and the environment. My efforts to discuss issues with her on phone have always involved accusations that I am an ‘activist’ and that I have a personal grudge against her. It’s silly I know but even if it were true, that does not relieve Mrs Maina of her duties as the CEO of the PCPB.

According to their website the PCPB aspires to the following

Our Vision
The vision of the PCPB is to be the leading regulatory agency for pest control products in the region.

Our Mision
The mission of PCPB is to provide an efficient and effective regulatory service for importation, exportation, manufacture, distribution, transportation, sale, disposal and safe use of pest control products and mitigate potential harmful effects to the environment.

Kenyans are using furadan and other pesticides in hunting birds and fish for  human consumption. This is not just about the dying birds, fish and other animals, it is a Public Health concern.

KENYANS SHOULD BE OUTRAGED!

Out tax money is paying for the salaries of civil servants like Mrs Maina who has a very specific duty towards Kenyans. She should hav no choice but to do her job or be judged for failing to protect Kenyans from the harmful effects of carbofuran by refusing to respond to reports of unsafe use and harmful effects to the environment.

Mrs Maina insists that I am fabricating reports. This is why I am publishing them here on line for all to view.

I made the slide show Purple Death to illustrate what is happening in Kenyan rice schemes to enable anyone anywhere to share this information and demand that the PCPB respond.

I am also attaching a report written by Martin Odino on July 18th sent by registered mail to Gladys Maina of the (PCPB) in accordance to her verbal instructions (she told me that our previous reports were not in the correct format preventing her from acting).

Though no written acknowledgment was received, Mrs Maina did confirm to me on phone that that did receive the reports but that she will not investigate this or any other incident reported - citing her concern that WildlifeDirect and friends are mere “activists”, that our reports contain no “technical facts”. She also said that the PCPB will not make site visits, nor will they be testing samples collected by us from the field as she suspects that we have tampered with the samples. In other words they will pretend that this and all other reports were in fact, never made.

This report was copied to Linda Froelich of FMC as per our agreed procedures captured in minutes of a meeting between the Stop Wildlife Poisoning Task Force held at the WildlifeDirect Nairobi offices on April 15th 2009. We have received no response from FMC.

This disappointing situation reveals just how deep the psychology of denial is in the PCPB and FMC.

We will continue to post carbofuran (and other pesticide) poisoning incident reports here for the record

INCIDENT REPORT OF POISONING OF BIRDS IN BUNYALA (JUNE 2009)

Please find below a report of witnessed bird poisoning from Bunyala, Busia in June 2009. I wish to bring to your attention that between June and July (2009) I have been Ahero Rice Scheme and Mwea Rice Schemes where witnesses say there is ongoing poisoning of birds using Furadan. In Mwea and Ahero, the species of birds poisoned are the White-faced Whistling Ducks and Fulvous Whistling Ducks in addition to doves in Ahero. In all the sites the birds were intentionally poisoned for human consumption.

Please also find attached photos taken during June 2009 survey of the poachers with the poisoned birds in sacks and about them; also a photo of a torn off Furadan label by the poachers to conceal the identity of the Furadan poison they are using.

We also had some dove samples whose contents (gut-crop, gizzard and intestinal- contents) tested for carbofuran poisoning as well as the sampple of the bait that was used to poison them tested for carbofuran and I have also attached the certificate of analysis.

BUNYALA POISONING

Incident: Poisoning of Cattle Egrets (8 birds)
Date incident occurred: 04/06/2009
Threat: 3 species of Egrets(Cattle Egrets, Yellow-billed Egrets and Little Egrets), Hadada Ibis, Sacred ibis, Sandpipers and humans that handle the furadan and those that feed on the poisoned birds.
Method:termites and small fish laced in Furadan

Incident: Poisoning of African Open-billed storks (22 birds)
Date incident occurred: 06/06/2009
Threat: Humans that use Furadan for poisoning and those that consume the birds.
Method: Snails (Species Pila ovata) laced in Furadan

Incident: Poisoning of Cattle Egrets (4 birds)
Date incident occurred: 06/06/2009
Threat: Other Egrets (Yellow-billed Egrets and Little Egrets), Sacred Ibises and Hadada Ibises. Humans that use Furadan for poisoning and those that consume the birds.
Method: termites and small fish laced in Furadan.

Tags: carbofuran, FMC, furadan, Kenya, Paula Kahumbu, PCPB, pesticide poisoning, Wildlife

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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

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

Hi,

I just thought it would be refreshing if you took a look at these handful photos for your weekend. These are part of my collection that I have from wildlife poisoning surveys.May be you could test your knowledge on these African raptors as well and put it as your comments? I will give you a hint for each. By the way a number of these raptors are vultures. Raptor refers to a birdof prey in contemporary ornithology. Traditionally the term was reserved for killer birds of prey; I mean birds of prey that literally killed their prey for eating. Vultures are scavengers and therefore would not qualify to be called raptors. They (vultures) are now also considered as raptors simplified to mean birds of prey. Raptors are sadly part of biodiversity that have and continue to suffer heavy casualties from pesticide poisoning. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy!

Hint: A snake-eater

Hint: A young bird or immature whose adults could attain one of the three colour morphs known of this species.

Hint: Also an immature bird; one of the two species of East African vultures whose young individuals are so identical.

Hint: The commonest East African vultures.

Hint: Afish-eater.

Pleasant weekend and keep checking our blog.

Tags: pesticide poisoning, raptors

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