Stop Wildlife Poisoning

Category: carbofuran | Date: Oct 30 2009 | By: paula

Dear all We are pleased to share this press release today from the EPA  

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward to implement the agency’s May 2009 final rule revoking tolerances, or residue limits, for the pesticide carbofuran. EPA continues to find that dietary exposures to carbofuran from all sources combined are not safe.

“The evidence is clear that carbofuran does not meet today’s rigorous food-safety standards,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. “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.”

Short-term health effects include headache, sweating, nausea, diarrhea, chest pains, blurred vision, anxiety and general muscular weakness.

EPA encourages growers to switch from carbofuran to safer pesticides or other environmentally preferable pest control strategies. Since the tolerances are being revoked, EPA reminds growers that carbofuran should not be applied to any food crops after December 31, 2009. Use of carbofuran after this date could result in adulterated food products, which would be subject to enforcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The United States has a safe and abundant food supply, and everyone should continue to eat a variety of foods, as recommended by the federal government and nutrition experts.

During the objection period, the chemical company FMC Corporation, which manufactures carbofuran, and three grower associations submitted objections to EPA’s tolerance revocations and requested an administrative hearing. EPA has concluded that the regulatory standard for holding an evidentiary hearing has not been met.  EPA’s explanation about why a hearing is not warranted, and the reasons for denying the objections are available on the web and will be published soon in a Federal Register notice.  As part of the administrative process, FMC may appeal the revocation of the carbofuran tolerances to a federal circuit court of appeals.

EPA’s May 2009 action to revoke carbofuran tolerances was the culmination of a regulatory process that began in 2006 when the agency published its risk assessments for carbofuran and determined, in August 2006, that no uses were eligible for reregistration. While FMC has voluntarily canceled 22 carbofuran uses, the elimination of these uses was not sufficient to allow the agency to make a finding that combined dietary exposures to carbofuran from food and water are safe. The process to cancel the remaining carbofuran registrations is under way and will address unacceptable risks to farmworkers during pesticide application and to birds in and around treated fields.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration/carbofuran/carbofuran_noic.htm

Tags: ban carbofuran, carbofuran, farming, FMC, furadan, Pesticides, poisoning

2 responses so far

Category: carbofuran | Date: Oct 07 2009 | By: Martin Odino

The deadly aspect about Furadan and any other poisoning is its concealed manner of killing. It is even worse when those using the chemical to kill wildlife do it in an unobtrusive way. I mean stealth and seemingly normal movements when in reality they are taking down unsuspecting victims. A monotonous sentences composition for this blog!

In assesing the impact of my education to poachers in Bunyala, a portion of the poachers acknowledge the venture is barbaric and while change to farming appears a difficult shift in lifestyle, some are contemplating embracing the change. But there is the immoral lot who have opted to beat me at the game and deny me access to the actual facts and figures of the still on-going poisoning and realized bird mortality.

During this week, we came across this poacher who was equiped with farming impliments like any other person working in the rice scheme. The fellow seemed to be turning upside down mounds of earth, picking up what we later found out were earthworms and putting them in a cup with Furadan. The bait searching is what gave him away because he seemed to be walking about aimlessly. Suspicious that he was up to some mischief , we had our binoculars on the guy and true to our suspicion the guy was poisoning waders but most shocking was how he was recovering the carcasses of the poisoned birds:

The guy used his cutlass to flatten mounds of earth formed by earthworms and jutting out of the flooding water. These are most ideal bait laying sites if the waders have to see and feed on the bait.

He then went ahead to lay the bait; eartworms laced with Furadan

Then came the moment of waiting for the waders to get intoxicated.

Everytime a substancial number (on average between 4 & 6) of birds became drowsy and dropped on the ground the chap moved in and picked the dying and the dead. The sandpipers that were still strong were strangled!

Then he pocketed them!

And pocketted still more!

My tally was 108 between 11.00 and 12.30. The guy after every trip to gather his spoils headed behind a termite mound where he had hid his sack and made several trips to hide his catch from our probing eyes. Satisfied, he walked away fast and in line with the raised earth mound so we could not capture him before disappearing behind bushes.

A ruff at the Bunyala irrigation Scheme in eclipse (intermediate) plumage- Most birds are in the transition from post breeding plumage to winter or non-breeding plumage which upon attaining the legs and bills will be dull grey (rather than pinkish -orange).

This is how the ruffs are flocking in Bunyala to refuel their energy bundles before emabarking on their continuing journey down to South Africa. Such will be the down trend of migrant birds during the remainder of the season which is a long 8 months period lasting from September to about end of April. Unless of course the chemical that is empowering the poachers to poison the poor creatures is banished.

Please keep reading.

Technorati : Bunyal Irrigationn Scheme, Furadan, Poisoning

Tags: Bunyal Irrigationn Scheme, furadan, poisoning

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Category: carbofuran | Date: Oct 06 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Dear Readers,

Apologies for my irregular writing lately. Many atimes I have been confronted by unavoidable field challenges unfavourable for blogging but I will keep doing my best to fully update you whenever the opportunity allows. My posts are therefore bound to be long but interesting so please kindly hang in there and read them through.

The latest development at Bunyala Rice Irrigation Scheme is the expansion of the cultivation field at least up to twice the former size. While the current size is at least 500ha large, the paddy fields continue to be reclaimed every day extending in all directions and I am informed the locals have been advised to leave no fallow land uncultivated by the national agricultural authorities. It is expected that the rice yields will alleviate the famine situation in our country, Kenya.

A small section of the extended agricultural land. The trees to the right are part of an untended live fence to a home. Irrigation water has spread into the compounds of most surrounding homes.

Much as this establishment sounds nobly humanitarian, the farmers are pessimistic that the intensive rice growing will bring them any economic fortune on their part. They boldly proclaim being robbed of their effort-draining toiling and moiling by the irrigation board which provides rice farming inputs enticingly labeled subsidized. The farmhands (casual laborers) who also happen to be the land owners say they tediously tend and eventually harvest the crop needless to add are responsible for the daily airing and drying of the cereal at the irrigation board’s storage premises awaiting to be sold. It is the irrigation board that indeed springs back into action to sell the processed cereal when the time comes. From the sale, the irrigation board then takes back what the farmers owe them and the remaining penny is forwarded to the farmers. In the words of the farmers that I talked to, the amount is best described to range between peanuts and negative, to mean you may still owe the board especially if the crop fails and this debt is carried forward to be recovered next season.

From my research perspective, my study site is greatly altered especially the transects that I have been working in. There are more of these now and are tougher to navigate because the maiden ploughing involves ‘deep flooding’ with the water depth in the feeder canals extending up to hip high for an average Kenyan man. My assistants and myself walk the whole day to be able to survey the whole site for bird poisoning. We must admit that in a number of cases we miss out on the poisoning going on on the distal end of the study site which extends beyond the comfortable optical aided view of our binoculars.

Taking GPS readings and recording bird mortality (myself writing from a low culvert slab and my assistant close by looking on far afield; the other is the photographer)

Talking of poisoning, it is of course Furadan poisoning of birds. Much as the farmers are staggering to keep faith that their intensive rice farming should pay this season, the season has come with fairly good news of no Furadan for rice planting! It does look like someone after decades of deviance is being careful to observe the law for once of Furadan not being allowed for use in rice fields. It must follow the persistence at Wildlife Direct to question the explicit law breaking by the supplier in getting the poison to Kenyan irrigation schemes. Bravo on this move! But the pesticide is still available.

Dangerously wielded by radical bird poachers, the pesticide continues to crash populations of birds through deliberate poisoning for human consumption:

The photos below were taken 2-3 days ago.

Poisoned African Open-billed Storks in a sack

A poacher making away with dead birds in a sack

The purple colour of Furadan showing on the snail baits for the storks; the little faded shade of purple is most likely because the bait was prepared the previous day

Bounty of the birds being the migration period is not making it any better.A flock of Black-tailed Godwits.

An unrecovered carcass of a poisoned Black-tailed Godwit by the poachers; one of the cases where we missed out on a bird poisoning incident. Small fishes that come with the flood water had nibbled on the bird’s neck tissues. A larger fish would probably gulp down the whole carcass and also die.

The poachers say the Furadan is still available from sources they are not comfortable to talk about owning up only Uganda as one of these sources. The pesticide’s identity is kept top secret to any stranger and every bit of its evidence is destroyed almost as soon as it is purchased but for the poisonous granules of course. The small pack (see below: note there is no label on the container) now costs around 8.5 dollars (Ksh 600).

Nonetheless, we are still doing our best in trying to educate the poachers most of whom are torn between the vegetable farming idea and keeping on with the poaching. One factor stands in the way of those undecided. Furadan availability! The good news is a number are increasingly becoming convinced that vegetable farming might just be a better idea and one has offered to look for a piece of land where we can start from.

An education session: Poachers peering at knowledge in my guide book

Please keep reading. I will be giving you more poisoning updates inclusive of a video clip of how storks are beaten to their death and captured once disoriented by Furadan poison shortly.

Technorati : Bunyala Rice Irrigation Scheme, Furadan, Kenya, Poisoning, Wildlife Direct

Tags: Bunyala Rice Irrigation Scheme, furadan, Kenya, poisoning, Wildlife Direct

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 25 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Normally the term poacher brings out the impression that these are fellows hunting average sized to big game. In normal circumstances, ‘normal’poachers hunt game exclusively benefiting entirely from game meat sale and no other activity. I mean they are more or less specialized to this activity targettting ,mostly herbivores.

In Bunyala, poachers are bird hunters in the contemporary setting. But even these have stemed out from an older generation that hunted normally: I mean mainly specialized herbivore hunters relying almost solely on this activity. But of course these were hunted to none in the region.

When I talk of bird poachers therefore, you are less likely to fear that these guys could be dangerous to people who are nosing into their business but reality of the situation is contrary. Noinetheless they are normal people.

Maimed individuals already lying at his feet, this fellow is contemplating a long shot for disoriented individulas that have wondered far

The young man above is hardly in his thirties and poisons birds almost on a daily basis for sale. Off the poisoning field he is an electronics expert repairing mostly radios. Then again he gets hired to work in the irrigation scheme to chase birds, weed or harvest the rice. But may be he does all these tasks because he has two wives, the first of whom is ailing and bed ridden (I hope it is not a furadan-related illness, God forbid) and a couple of children.

This one is an older poacher in his mid thirties I am told has neither wife nor kids. His speciality is small bird and especially dove and pigeon poisoning rather than stork poisoning. But the guy also gets hired for farming activities in the Bunyala RErice Irrigation Scheme.

This guy is a homeowner in his late thirties; a family man and responsible father in a crude way:as you can see his sons are being drilled to take over and follow in his footsteps.

The band above constitutes agemates in their thirties and to a larger part bachelors. These guys all poison storks and it is their unifying factor. A good number have strange story lines inclusive of one known to have chopped off one local tailor’s arm for failing to finish the poacher’s girlfriend’s outfit on the agreed deadline ; another (the guy in green) is renowned for habitually beating up his father, the mentor that saw him rise to bird poisoning profession.

What is common to all these poachers is that they are known to generously spend their money earned in poisoning business in commodities that can best be described as illicit. After work, they flock in Illicit brew dens to down a few tumblers while Marijuana smoking is a norm of this callibre.

Wether the illicit substances are responsible or the guys are haunted by the mad killing of nature’s beings, generally these guys are feared to be bad tempered. Duels and gang fights are not uncommon amongst themselves over poisoned birds-which group’s bird is it?(if the poisoned bird takes off and falls in no man’s land); who is entitled to more dead birds?-It is real jungle style and some days my assistant and I have to watch from a distance. What is worse is that for some reason, which I suspect is poison availability, most of these guys have become so full of themselves and what used to be a joke, “just photograph what I am doing but time is coming when you will have to pay me” is now a real and altered stern warning that I should “absolutely refrain from taking any photos “.

The smell around these strange guys is typically wild, ortherwise fine by me whose ‘brown collar’ job has taught me to appreciate nature in its various shades. This smell is purpoted to be the effect of the many storks they have eaten which smell the same. But acknowledging the odour is disrupted by their warning breath of scary and menacing stench of terror!

Keep reading friends.

Technorati : Bunyala, Poacher, Poisoning

Tags: Bunyala, Poacher, poisoning

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 18 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Another case of raptor poisoning is under investigation in Scotland by Tayside Police’s wildlife section and CID officials. The good thing however is that the community’s involvement may just be the beginning of the end to such poisoning.

Alma, a two year Golden Eagle succumbed to poisoning in Glenesk. Brechin Community Council vice-convener raised the issue at the meeting saying that it was fairly conclusive that the bird was poisoned in Glenesk. Community Councillor Agnes Lowdon added that she believes no one was targeting that bird since she is a free spirit but that they were for sure targeting a raptor. The indiscriminate use of poison is threatening to get rid of the population of Scotland’s natural bird.

In Kenya, with early arrivals already reported, we await the coming of the Lesser Kestrels dreading the likelihood that the Lesser Kestrel exhibiting speedy depopulation worldwide (up to 46% in breeding grounds abnd 25% in wintering groundsevery decade since 1971)is directly poisoned in my study site in Bunyala. I am therefore designing a study to this effect.

While the species conventional mode of feeding alienates it from direct poisoning by poachers, probable survival mechanisms may just be exposing it to the poisoning like other birds that feed on poison bait. Normally they will detect insects on close range in flight and feed on them on the wing, but in Bunyala, the small falconids are sometimes observed to perch on the ground and near bait. Scattered Furadan-laced insect bait may not pose great risk of consumption by the Kestrels but gathered bait sometimes left on sheets of paper may just be easy catch for the Lesser Kestrels.

Termites being mixed with Furadan. Sometimes these may be left out in the field where the Kestrels were seen to hunt.

These photos were taken in late April this year and on closer scrutiny left me fearful if the birds are not getting poisoned as well.

A Lesser Kestrel perched on the ground where scattered bait had been laid out

Another Lesser Kestrel flying down to pick an insect in a transect where I was observing for bird poisoning

More Common Kestrels than Lesser Kestrels were seen to perch higher; nearer and strategic to ambush insects in flight?outcompeting the Lessers that were forced to scavenge sometimes?therefore feeding on poison bait?It has been observed sthat ome birds have higher lethal doses such as Egrets or even resistance and may not necessarily die on the site but elsewhere further possibly at their roost;might be the case with the kestrels.

A mixed flock of the kestrels going to roost. The insect like forms against the orange sunset background are the individual birds.

Just a note of concern is that the Golden Eagle is regionally extinct in Ireland, neighbouring Scotland while the globally threathened Lesser Kestrel is known to face pesticide poisoning as one of its threats in its range both directly but also through causing reduction in its prey availability.

Please keep reading.

Technorati : Poisoning

Tags: poisoning

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 03 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Dear readers,

Watching and appreciating wildlife foraging, watering, roosting or even mating fills one with excitement of what a beauty nature is from deceptive harmony and nonchalance . But looking harder and witnessing them dash and dodge from their predators(including man) ; or huddle together because man has invaded their natural microhabitat and reduced it to almost none; or see them scrambling to dring drink murky, dirty water from a muddy pool because man’s activities have caused climate change inclusive of global warming and hence drying up waterbodies and sources reminds us how tough their survival is and therefore what a miserable beauty they are.

But there is always a way to counter these pressures on them but these ways have to go through the slow process of frog-leaping through a long period of time through myriads of generations probably up to millions of years.

Watching birds out here and contemplating their survival, I pick the natural “am watching your back” stance which reminds me that at some time before poisoning, poaching with modern artillery or even when highly skewed climate changes were not the order of nature, wildlife only had one major threat: predation and developed this watching your back technique that even in birds is so defined. I took these photos without the knowledge that I was capturing the phenomenon. I must have represented the predator! A beautiful presentation by the birds nonetheless.

Malachite Kingfishers

Sacred Ibises

Little Egrets

A Ruff and a White-faced Tree Duck

Unfortunately un-natural pressures by man are faster eveolving than naturally counter mechanisms by the poor wildlife. They have a long way to evolve against climate change, modern poaching inclusive of poisoning.

Technorati : Poaching, Poisoning, Wildlife

Tags: Poaching, poisoning, Wildlife

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Category: carbofuran | Date: Jul 28 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Dear readers,

Thank you for reading, commenting and donating on this blog. We are also very thankful to the CBS 60 minutes for their recent video and story on sunday, 26/07/09. Please keep supporting us to bring an end to the gross and harmful poisoning of wildlife.

While I prepare to get to the ground to continue with my project in Bunyala, I have reason to worry that the situation on furadan poisoning has not gotten any better but just got worse by going underground. I am troubled by the closing paragraph at the end of the CBS story that:

“After our story aired, FMC announced it would recall Furadan from stores in Kenya and stop all sales in the neighboring countries of Uganda and Tanzania. But a random survey last month found that while Furadan was no longer on the shelves in Kenya, it was still available in Uganda and Tanzania, where lions are also disappearing.”

Earlier on (July 15th, 2009), I got this communication of the Furadan situation in Eldoret:

“Am in Eldoret briefly and wanted to let you know that quite a few shops still have Furadan on the shelves. One shopkeeper told me that that even though they know it is being withdrawn, that the distributors are still selling it…

Picture from this morning attached

What should we do with this information?”

Further, yesterday, I also got a call from my ground assistant that bird poisoning is still on in Bunyala.

Honestly, linking these three episodes leaves a lot to be desired. The email communication did not specify the suppliers of the toxic pesticide and our attempt to follow up on the same have been futile. However, CBS reports that “FMC, declined 60 Minutes’ request for an interview but said in a written statement that Furadan is important to the sustainability of agriculture in Kenya. They said that the labels clearly illustrate its proper use and that they condemn the illegal use of their products to kill predatory wildlife.” We know FMC announced their withdrawal of the product from Kenya and East Africa but seemingly they still stress on the chemical being of agricultural importance to kenya.

The situation in Bunyala is worrying because crop production is unreliable and the prevalent drought and famine have not made it any better. Well, people may just eat more birds…furadan-poisoned….and may be the the drought may end up killing their livestock before they turn to them!

It appears there are no prospects of intervention by the relevant titans in the immediate future as concerns stricter regulation or a possible ban of the product. There is therefore need to echo our call of urgency to all well-wishing stakeholders, particularly nations affected by ‘our crude poisoning technique’.

Particularly, as concerns birds, the populations impacted on are not just Kenyan but also from Eurasia - Europe and Asia at large - and a number of African countries. This is because the phenomenon of birds’ movements involves migrations affecting up to long-range migrants. This means that only Australia & New Zealand and the America’s bird populations are not affected but even then, cases of vagrants occurring in our region are not uncommon and lately they have been on the increase possibly because of the greatly changed environmental conditions.

At the moment, Southern African migrants are around. I have seen the Southern Pochard, the Madagascar and the White-throated Bee-eaters. A couple Wahlberg’s Eagles have also arrived early possibly following their inborn cues but the usual rains that hail their coming are not on. Nonetheless they are here. Numerous Palearctic migrants are still about: Ruffs, Marsh Sandpipers, Common Sandpipers and Woodsandpipers are around on our water bodies and the irrigation schemes. The Furadan poisoning bird poacher’s list is toped by waterbirds and these constitute the majority of what I have shortlisted. In my data collection of poisoned birds, I have Ruffs, Marsh Sandpipers, wood Sandpipers and Green Sandpipers. No doubt the list is lacking.

A classic example of why we need your kind support by commenting, donating or even greatly publicizing your greatly declined birds some of which I may have Iisted above given the fact that some of the migrating birds that end up being poisoned here in Kenya may be critical or endangered in their native breeding countries. The Ruff for instance already is suffering from its contracting range in Europe due to land drainage and increased fertilizer use. The greatly migrating population coming to get poisoned in Africa, in Kenya, just compounds their declines. The bird is listed in African Eurasian Waterbirds Agreement (AEWA) waterbirds. The countries that are members could make noise about this problem facing the bird that the host country does not seem to be taking responsibility. The following are poisoned sandpipers and ruff, either disoriented or already dead from baiting by Furadan.

It is sad that many species of migrants die in large numbers as compared to the resident bird species because the residents have learnt over time of this method working against them. Even with the knowledge, these subjects do not go free and lose many of their own but progressively avoid the baits with time. On the other hand, migrants arrive hungry and in anticipation of food to fuel their movement down to South Africa then again back North on their return journey and they seem utterly unaware of the poisoning thereby losing more of their own at the poisoning sites compared to the residents.

In one month’s time, Eurasian bee-eaters and a numerous waders will be here constituting early arrivals from Europe and Asia. The little input to this campaign will go a long way to ensure that if at all any should die, then just a few would have to die from the saddening poisoning using Furadan.

Technorati : AEWA, Bunyala, CBS, FMC, Furadan, Poisoning, Wildlife

Tags: AEWA, Bunyala, CBS, FMC, furadan, poisoning, Wildlife

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Category: carbofuran | Date: Jul 23 2009 | By: Martin Odino

We visited one poacher’s home at his invitation in Bunyala. This man is a renowned veteran hunter and he confirms in his melancholic narration of how once wild ungulates -’large’ antelopes, gazelles and warthogs- as well as hares roamed the hilly relief features of Bunyala.

The old man, probably in his late 60’s says he still hunts but the frequency of going game hunting has gone to almost none given the fact that there are no longer many thick bushes as they used to be where they would flush out the animals . Instead, bird hunting has become a more reliable mode of poisoning but for the high cost of the pesticide which they use for poisoning the birds. According to him, him and the other bird hunters still get Furadan but he says they deal with middlemen and even they do not know the actual source of the pesticide much. He then asked me if I did not know that the government had banned the chemical. I think he was just siziing me up to know if for sure I am ‘the government’. Well he said they are all ears to the wind just in case somebody was out to arrest them.

In the 80’s and when game hunting was the giant source of wild meat and income, my interviewee (the old man) says he used to lead a team of other men, most of which he had trained himself. A pack of hunting dogs would accompany them and there was guaranteed succesful killing of quarry on every hunting expedition. He says they would ambush and kill the animals using clubs, spears, bows and arrows after having been led by their ’sniffer’ dogs. This activity is no longer fruitful and the wild game have just gone under. Bird poisoning then picked up.

Traditionally, game birds were ‘intoxicated’ using traditional brew residue or grains soaked in local brew. The birds would then get disoriented, some even dropping to the ground then they would be picked for human consumption. The same way, Furadan poisoning evolved. This picked up easily because manpower was there, just diverted from game poaching. Further, Furadan killled numerous birds which is what was required if the income return from the birds poisoned had to measure up with the returns from game poaching.

But the old man sighed and said that even with Furadan, this contemporary form of poaching (bird poisoning) never really measured up to the old game poaching. His general observations are that birds are on the decline. He also says poaching, (it became poisoning) was and still is an economic activity, acording to him just like there were and still are traders, farmers and fishermen in the local set up, adding that poachers who are now employing poisoning will continue to as long as there is a poison to be used. If anything, there is no other animal to be poached.

The old man is a proud poacher but certainly not proud of what bird poisoning has made of him: he still wallows in poverty, despite bird poaching providing quick money . His home only boasts 3 dilapidated houses, of which 1 is his son’s who is also a poacher. I asked him if given that he was the living grand master behind the poaching and poisoning apprenticeship if he would help me change the minds of the men wasting their lives poaching poor birds by advocating for alternatives that I preached and hoped to fund raise for. The man mischievously asked if i would pay him. Well, I told him I would look into that but I think if he meant well for the society, then he would be relieved and satisfied to see that his community was on its feet after abandonng degrading and derogatory poisoning even without pay.

My host’s home: This photo was actually taken inside the compound which is demarcated by widely spaced tree line with decoy storks for use in poisoning seemingly being the only life forms gracing the home.

Besides being a poacher, my interviewee is a herdsman by day and watchman to one well off homested by night.

It is a society in dire need of liberation much as the process is painfully slow and frustrating to the persons and process of trying to impliment it.

Tags: Bunyala, furadan, Poaching, poisoning

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jul 11 2009 | By: Martin Odino

Dear readers, no doubt pastoralists poison carnivores-lions, leopards - and in the event scavengers-hyenas and vultures -get killed because of an incessant livestock feud between man and carnivore; prestigious wealth to the pastoralists and food for carnivores whose habitat has been encroached into and food supply as wild game greatly cut short.

Wild bird meat consumers on the other hand are presumed to feed on the ‘cheaper meat’ because they cannot afford properly domestic animal meat sold in butcheries. But just how cheap is the wild meat?

Bush meat dealers are modestly wealthy elites who hang in the business and at any one time skulk the wilderness with a fortune. This is apparent when they are arrested but will comfortably bail themselves out by paying 40 dollars easily thereby avoid the jail walls and get back to killing wildlife as soon as they can. As a matter of fact, the money they get from their business is in most cases that made by the cattle rancher who breeds and sells beef cattle. To further illustrate the lucrativeness of their business is the fact that their commodity is not just sold locally but is also exported.

Bird poisoning by all means also falls under bush meat business with birds sold for consumption. As low class poaching as it may seem, meant to cater for the poor consumer, a critical consideration shows otherwise. When you consider unit costs for the bird meat and compare it to unit costs for the common properly sold meat, beef, it is cheaper or the same price. The Open-billed Storks weigh hardly heavier than 700 grams on the average and cost 1 dollar. The weight is inclusive of feathers, entrails, legs and head parts which are normally discarded. In the end we are talking of about 400 grams being sold at 1 dollar. On the other hand, 500 grams of beef costs up to a minimum of 1.25 dollars. This is healthy meat and you are sure the cattle were not poisoned.

About 250 grams for 0.75 dollars

Traditionally, Africans fed on wild meat; there were occupational hunters and these always supplied the rest of the community with ‘rich’ wild meat. It was believed wild meat kept people strong and free of illnesses and together with wild vegetables ensured long life. The habit is on and wild bird meat eating is an aspect of it with about unchanged beliefs on the advantages of wild meat but has become more backward with poisoning.

People, myself inclusive have perceived that domestic animals in rural areas like Bunyala are an investment and reserved for special occasions but that is not significantly so. Not if visitors and convalescing patients are purchased for poisoned birds to eat; not if cattle are not sold to take children to school but instead the relatives that have moved out to towns and therefore presumed to have more income than their requirements are contacted for the education of the ‘poor’ parents’ children in the countryside and not if the poisoning is frenzied and the reason for which reared animal in part supposed to provide protein is reserved for prestige and nothing else.

Chicken roam in scores in the homesteads; cattle in herds and schools of fish are netted and available to the consumers in sizes from tiny to big and therefore fit for all ranges of expenditure.

Cattle in Ahero

Fish in Bunyala

Tags: Poaching, poisoning

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

I must admit I loved the hospitality of the people in Ahero; respecting what you do, lending you an ear when you needed to find out something from them, giving you proper directions where to find something, Furadan inclusive. I have now left the site but the last thiing I saw just left me in awe!and it left a lot to be desired from the one gentleman from whom it came from .

There was this one boy who was looking after his brother’s rice field and since the rice plot was along the path leading further into the rice scheme that I always followed, we had almost become regular persons to each other so I would say hello every day and listen to his ranting and raving how everyday he had a sore throat from yelling at the birds so that they do not destroy their rice.

A nice young man I would say but who unlike all the others denied any knowledge of the Furadan bird poisoning going on in Ahero because he had only come to Ahero that month from a renowned maize growing area in kenya known as Kitale. He admitted knowing of bird eating from Kitale especially cranes (I bet having noticed that I always marveled at their large numbers and took a photo of them almost on a daily basis) but this place was the birds’ eldorado and much as they chased them away because they are notorious for trampling and eating the rice, nobody killed them here. I almost believed him but on this last day what I saw made me lose faith in all he had been telling me.

I could not resist taking a photo of these birds; posing differently every other day

I was leaving the field early because I needed to pack and travel by night. For some reason I hanged around him for unusually long chatting about various issues including him telling me of the Nandi Hills and how since times immemorial the luo (his tribesmen) battled with the Nandi (another tribe, pastoralists unlike the luo who arecrop farmers and fishermen) because the latter always came and raided cattle from the former.

A faint outline of the Nandi Hills in the background;in the foreground is the harvested section of the Ahero Rice Scheme, then in the middle ground are cattle and the memorial battle ground of the Nandi and Luo people in the background.

After a while, a younger gentleman brought this boy food. I was uncomfortable and sought my leave but from traditional etiquette the gentleman insisted over my almost retorting kind refusal. Determined to leave, I started off but noticed a chunk of meat that looked like it was derived from a bird! A leg piece I thought. More precisely the sinewy upper leg part popping from polythene packing! Already laid on the ground was fried beans to suppliment the delicious piece! I became blant and asked him if the piece was from chicken. Feeling suspicion from my voice he was for once frank and told me that it was from a duck, using local language, “atudo”. But I told him it looked smaller for a domestic duck. He agreed and I could see him struggling against his will to tell me the truth. He proceeded on that it was from a wild duck. I then asked how they had killed the bird and he said, ‘You already know because I have heard you ask about bird killing using faradam’. A tree duck for sure it was and definately killed by Furadan. I told him that Furadan is toxic which he told me he knows and that it will make him sterile!!!!!I was desperate to have at least one person tell the others to stop the poisoning. I hope it worked because I could see frustration on his face and the expression ‘what?!you mean I won’t sire!’

I put on my camera and wanted a shot but the gentleman, sly as always tactifully mantled the food from me; all my effort to capture the piece failed and the closest I got to getting the piece of evidence was the photo below of the guy taking a mouthful bite!

In Bunyala, they come in this form.

A roasted stork. The stork was poisoned dead using furadan.

Poisoning using Furadan is still on.

Tags: Ahero Rice Schem, furadan, poisoning

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