Stop Wildlife Poisoning

Category: Pesticides, carbofuran | Date: Oct 05 2008 | By: Martin

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Apologies if this post’s heading is troubling; I could not find any better title. I also wish to humbly inform my dear readers that I must leave certain organization’s names out so that this does not turn personal. I was not comfortable when somebody that matters in one pesticide organization told me, ‘welcome! I have heard about you and I am glad I have seen you’.

I went through a turbulent end of the week! I literally spent the Friday and Saturday struggling in my limited ways together with one remarkable conservationist heading the Kenyan office of a renowned international conservation organization, trying to get the details of recent Furadan poisoning of fish in Tanzania. I am still optimistic that I will get some details and hopefully, photos sent my way across the border (from Tanzania) of the poisoning ordeal. I should then surely avail the story on the stopwildlifepoisoning blog. At the moment, I only know that 6 gallons of liquid Furadan were poured in Kilombero River to kill fish with the fishermen warning the villagers not to use the river water for domestic purposes. This happened sometime last week.

I spent the weekend combing papers and articles on carbofuran especially Furadan 5G, the grossly alleged threat to Kenya’s wildlife. I must get certain facts right to be able to tackle the various troubling facets that challenge this stop wildlife poisoning campaign, in particular the campaign against Furadan pesticide as the poison. These have been manifested in my interactions especially with the people dealing with pesticides before it gets to the users.

It is now apparent that the discussion about Furadan is not a discussion but a sad war. It has become tough for me to get any relevant information from the pesticides fellows. It starts with word games where we have been repeatedly warned that we should talk of Furadan poisoning and not Carbofuran poisoning despite the active ingredient being carbofuran. I was recently advised for my knowledge that carbofuran is not sent nor sold in Kenya, but as far as I know, it is sold and sent to Kenya in the Furadan preparation. Nonetheless, I am going to stick to Furadan poisoning to save myself from the inconvenience of being interrupted and getting confused from the flow of my conversation that I should not mention carbofuran poisoning but Furadan poisoning. That is not the end of the war, I am disappointed when I am directed to a website where I cannot find information especially concerning a follow up on a Furadan alleged case of poisoning (Mara lion poisoning). Either the information is not there absolutely, or it is hidden behind the locks of a registration fee that is required for anyone to have full success of the information on the website. I wonder why positive counter allegation evidence to an issue that sparked terror and implicated a great need to mend holes in the pesticide regulation /manufacture fraternity would be kept hidden from the public. Many questions therefore arise as to the credibility of the findings of the follow up which was summarised as ‘there was no connection between the dead animals and carbofuran’ in the Mara.

I have also been trying to find out the carbofuran products that may have been or are still of concern in other places in the world in trying to establish if I can link it up to the Kenyan scenario. Based on a report in late 1990’s-crop-profile-of-rice-in-california.pdf- I stumbled on a profile description of Furadan 5G, the exact carbofuran product that may cost Kenya its wildlife and probably aggravate the neurotic disorders of its citizens. Various aspects of Furadan 5G are highlighted including its safety. According to the report, carbofuran was on the Food Quality Protection Act list 1 of insecticides scheduled to have their tolerances reassessed by August 1999. As a carbamate, the report revealed that the reassessment of carbofuran may result in the elimination of some uses. The product seems to have been praised for its minimal effects on non-target arthropods and fish. This is not what we are experiencing in Kenya, or are we dealing with a compound pseudo-labelled Furadan 5G when the reality is that it is a higher concentrate carbofuran product? Our Furadan 5G product even has one of the hazard labels cautioning on harm on fish. It does not make sense when it is generally stated in a communication to me that Furadan 5G is generally less toxic than the active ingredient carbofuran by 20-40 times. Fish were poisoned last week in Tanzania and birds, also fish are still being poisoned in Kenya using Furadan 5G. These have ended up and will continue ending up in East African peoples’ digestive systems, the actual effects on their health of which need the medical personnel to unveil.

I also gathered from an International POPs Elimination Project report of 2005– that spelt doom due to the hazardous state attributed to many chemical stockpiles including poor storage of which Desert Locust Control (DLCO) East Africa was sited. DLCO particularly struck me because it was reported that they had switched from mostly organchlorines which were banned due to persistence, environmental effects and bioconcentration in fatty tissues, but switched to amongst others carbamates carbaryl and propoxur. These are less hazardous to the environment but more acutely hazardous to human and animal health. When these poisons are injected into the air, they will not only just bring down the insects (starting with locusts) but also birds (directly or indirectly) and what of the humans that get in contact with the poisons or even those that might eat the birds killed in the exercise?

The poisoning saga in Kenya is terrifying, especially when the true knowledge of the deadly implications of the pesticides being used to kill vermin and wild animals is sat on squarely by the relevant authorities so that for some reason the public does not get to it. This looks bad especially when the whole situation appears to take full advantage of public ignorance and employing otherwise deadly chemicals that qualify to be termed poisonous. Sometimes, sharing the knowledge on these chemicals is worthwhile and may enhance livelihood security.

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Tags: carbamates, furadan, Kenya, Kilombero, Pesticides, Stop Wildlife Poisoning Campaign, Tanzania, Wildlife

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Sep 24 2008 | By: Martin

Hi,

I am just heading back to Nairobi from a place called Machakos, about 70km from Nairobi. One of Kenya’s 60 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) is found here and is known as Machakos IBA. I have a personal interest in this area; I have been monitoring a Wahlberg’s Eagle pair in the area for the last 3 years which comes in around August of every year and leaves by April of the next year. Wahlberg’s Eagle is an intra-African migrant raptor and also the smallest of the dark Eagles otherwise called Aquila eagles.

I have watched a number of wild animals in this area, especially in a local agricultural Institute center (Kenya Agricultural Research Institute-KARI) where I made reference to in an earlier post, ‘no poisoning here’. Bordering this area is the Athi-Kapiti plains with its wildlife ranches such as Hopkraft’s Ranch. It is in these plains that the worst of the recently vulture poisoning incidences took place and 187 of the species succumbed to poisoning in 2004. For a while I felt the research institute had every reason to boast a fairly intact habitat relative to the surrounding almost absolute natural habitat depleted neighbourhood. For another reason, I have seen vultures and other raptors pass over this area and sighed, “mmhh they must be confident the chances of coming across baited carcass in this area is minimum compared to the neighbouring Athi plains”.

Fairly intact vegetation on KARI.

The view from mid photo into background is cleared, settled and cultivated land.

It is in this research centre that the Wahlberg’s Eagles found a safe confine where to put up a nest and renovate it year in year out before laying their egg or two utmost. Naturally, only one young survives in case they were two hatchlings because of the phenomenon called canism which essentially is the killing of the weaker hatchling by the stronger. Canism is well explained in one post in Simon Thomsett’s blog. Unfortunately, for the last two years I have monitored the eagles, their nesting has always been a failure especially because intruders somehow always cut down the tree where the Eagles nest. I even went on to request for the large, high canopied trees to be closely monitored by the institute’s farm management which seem to be this small eagle’s favourite. However, today, in my morning scouting around the institute’s premises, I still realized this is on-going, though the tree that the eagles last put up their nest is still intact.

The eagles‘ nesting tree is the tallest in the photo.

Tree stump of recently felled tree

The birds literally left for their southerly bound journey (to Angola most probably where they spend their time when they are not around) without nesting, probably because of human disturbance or the time for their departure had just reached. Normally, they would be renovating the nest at about this time (September- October). Last breeding season, the tree on which they were nesting and were actually incubating in November 2007 was cut down. They ended up staying much longer and after identifying another tree, constructed a nest then left.

(Check the nests in the photo taken from the underside of the canopy. The one on the left was left. The one to the right might be the active one though dominant at the moment)

I was hopeful I would get them in their nest today especially when I heard a loud domestic chicken, chick-like quick squeals which I have heard them make while courting and nest-building but it was not them. I walked around avoiding disturbing them in case they were in the nest but actually they were not even in sight. I went back up the river valley and saw one individual airborne. At least they are around but may be this once safer haven no longer has hope for them especially after no nesting successes for the last 2 breeding seasons.

There is still evidence small game though. Dik diks, mongooses and hares are typical. Below are the crepuscular hare’s pellets/droppings, fresh from early morning deposition I would suppose.

I have observed a whole lot of variety of migrating birds stop over to replenish their energy packs before proceeding on south or north. These include the Pallid Harriers, Montagu’s Harriers, Black Storks, Red-backed Shrikes, Red-tailed Shrikes, Barn Swallows, Common House Martins just to mention but a few. All these roost and forage on the research institute’s grounds, but the whole lot of optimum conditions seem to be collapsing. Besides the human encroachment on the habitat, even the wetland has dried up! I never saw this wetland dry up completely even during the driest of the months. Global warming I would suppose. As a result, skulking coloured rock lizards on the rocky river bed are nowhere (I only saw one) whereas the once flowing river only has only a few pools of stagnated water. I wonder how the frogs are doing!

Dried up mud and surrounding rocky river bed where the river flowed out of the wetland

Drying up reeds

Remnant water pools

Generally, this wildlife haven just looks like it is going down.

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Tags: eagle, frogs, global warming, habitat, lizards, migrants, raptors, Wahlberg’s Eagle, wetland, Wildlife

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 30 2008 | By: Martin

Hi all,

In Kenya, some infuriated pastoralists have been known to set out poisoned bait to nab the culprits that killed their stock. It is however a crude technique since nobody herds the lions (other carnivores) towards the poisoned bait so that in the end the real culprit is the one condemnmed to death when he feeds on the fouled food. More oftenly, other innocent victims fall victims of the poisoning as well.

Farmers in “America’s Salad Bowl” are turning into hunters _ stalking wild pigs, rabbits and deer _ to keep E. coli and other harmful bacteria out of their fields. It’s part of an intense effort to prevent another disaster like the 2006 spinach contamination that killed three people, sickened 200 and cost the industry $80 million in lost sales. Spinach grower Bob Martin has even poisoned ponds with copper sulfate to kill frogs that might get caught in harvesting machinery or carry salmonella on their webbed feet.

It is a sad affair especially because the exact source of the contamination was never discovered, but scientists suspected cattle, feral pigs, or other wildlife may have spread the E. coli by defecating near crops.

We are not just talking of killing wildlife or amphibians. Native trees and plants are being uprooted as well and fences being erected to make the land inhospitable to wildlife. It is an entire ecosystem destruction. Couldnt the analysts and experts find out the real reason behind the vegetable poisoning? must it be that one (actually several) be destroyed to save another? May be these organisms being destroyed are not responsible for the contamination.

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Tags: amphibians, Carnivores, cattle, copper sulfate, E.coli, ecosystem, feral pigs, frogs, Kenya, lions, pastoralists, poison, Wildlife

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 04 2008 | By: Martin

Hi, I will base this write up on actual observations in poisoning scenes that I have witnessed.
A lot of people who kill and/or eat poisoned wildlife/birds have a number of justifications that sometimes leave one in a difficult position in trying to understand and deal with the problem of wildlife poisoning. Some will tell you that the land in their localities does not yield sufficient crop any more and that only birds can complement their staple carbohydrate uptake. Wildlife/bird poisoning therefore turns out an occupation and source of income for some and a cheap food source for the others. Still, others go on to state that wildlife and birds are created for man’s utility. In other words, man is the master.
It is however a painful realization when you come to learn about the forms of humiliation, trauma and cruelty that is triggered by poisoning. I saw my relative poison puppies using a rodenticide because they were just too many. She did this repeatedly every time the dog gave birth. It was absurd. It would be better if she told me that she was doing so because the pups were too many for her to feed, or because there was nobody to give the pups out to. Even before the puppies died and were still wreathing in pain, she took them and dumped them in a pit toilet. I watched in awe not knowing what to do. What a master this one is even if we are the masters over animals.
Two years ago, I also witnessed 2 dead Zebras on the shores of Lk. Bogoria, one of Kenya’s Rift Valley lakes. The game ranger who was accompanying us said there was possibility of the Zebras having died from thrusts of poisoned spears. The full grown Zebra had two deep slits on its hind quarters where apparently the killer had thrust his spear. The young Zebra had a deep slit on its abdomen side. There was a noxious foul smell from the two corpses. The ranger had been there about twelve hours earlier and the killings had not taken place. Likely, these were the acts of poachers. But why kill if you will not consume?
The most disturbing poisoning memories I have however are those of birds. I have witnessed birds baited by poisoned food materials, captured and enslaved to be used for the success of man’s desires, in this case maximize on the bounty of baited birds. These birds are always kept under conditions of depression, always tethered to a peg either inside or outside the house, ferried to and fro inside and outside the house as it pleases the captor. The manner of bird handling itself elicits a chill to an observer where the bird is held dangling, by the wings. Still, the bird’s primaries (longer, outermost flight feathers) will never grow to full size since the captors will always pluck them out so that the birds may not at any one time be able to fly away and rescue themselves from slavery. The captors then use them as Judas for other birds where the birds call out to others to lure them to a poisoned meal. Sooner or later the birds flock the foraging ground which is actually a set up and the food is laced in poison. The poison used in this case was carbofuran (Furadan 5G) and In a matter of time the birds started wobbling in gait, falling down and panting while others collapsed to their death in a short time. Not moved by the miserable sight of disorientation and death, the poachers then stepped in the death arena armed with sticks, sacks and basins. Small birds that had not died had their wings broken while the bigger birds had their legs battered by the sticks, leaving a site of hopping birds with broken legs and some lying mute on the ground only imaginably shedding tears of pain. Some of the big birds whose aggression did not succumb to this pain had their necks twisted around. In brief poisoning in this case facilitates treachery and gross cruelty.
But what is the orthodox reason behind poisoning? Crudely necessary, though sensible, poisoning should be directed to an organism that has caused nuisance to a point of extremity that there is need for it to be killed and be done away with, NOT EATEN. Thus, poisoning can be deemed ethical. I have been to three bird poisoning sites and none of the poachers in these sites poison birds since they are a nuisance. They do it so that the birds can be sold as food to humans and those who buy the birds do so to eat them, knowing full well that the birds have poisoned. Many people have forgotten about the ethics of poisoning. Please help remind them.

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Tags: carbofuran, poisoning, Wildlife, Zebra

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Category: Pesticides, carbofuran | Date: Jul 17 2008 | By: Martin

While Endosulfan is hitting headlines with majority public hatred outcry in Philippines, Carbofuran is hitting headlines with informed minority hatred outcry- those who have seen and know the devastating implications not just to wildlife but also to humans.

But Endosulfan’s effects are witnessed in the exceptionally high prevalence of birth defects among children in Asia. The region adjoining the Plantation Corporation’s cashew plantations in Kerala’s Kasaragod district highly suspected to be linked to the Endosulfan pesticide. May be we are waiting for the same for Carbofuran (Furadan). Furadan’s direct effects to humans are only inferred or better stated, are latent amongst its victims. This is primarily because the poisoning goes on at mild levels in humans hardly attaining the threshold lethal limits to cause immediate death. This is mostly through eating poisoned wildlife and known in this case is the eating of poisoned birds. The birds are eviscerated immediately, but even this is done in a haphazard way and cannot be said to be absolutely free of direct contamination from the bait that killed the bird. These subjects however continue taking the chemical over time and cumulatively. Therefore, there must be effects, may be even deaths. Further, these contamination cases are not documented and there is therefore no data to support this. Contrary to the undetectable case in humans, the effects are obvious in the animals that we so crudely poison with the Carbofuran-carnivores, birds, herbivores etc.

Either way, the link between Endosulfan and carbofuran is that both are pesticides. In addition, both are being hailed deadly toxins in our environment. Well, another striking similarity is that both are wreaking havoc in their areas of use but those with the powers to oust them in these areas are reluctant, not that the evidence is lacking but most likely the chemical product boosts the agricultural productivity of an area/region/country but yet again monetary income is grande and some of the investors may be the ones having to stand and effect the ousting of the chemical, a challenging and self-crucifying move. But what is better than saving the entire biodiversity and man? Well in the end such a move remains the noble one.

The simple, uninformed “wildlife poisoners” cling on to Carbofuran because it is an ultimate killer, the same reason for which they should abhor it. But even they have identified it as a way to improve their status on richness scale: the carnivore killer’s dream is to own a larger herd; the bird hunter wants his supply to be larger. To both, Carbofuran will do the magic. It is all in the quest for affluence.

It is disturbing to realize that most effective chemical poisons bear a curse which is that they are NOT POTENTIALLY POISONOUS (AS SAID OF ALL CHEMICAL PESTICIDES), BUT ARE JUST POISONS! I wish it were otherwise.

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Tags: bird, carbofuran, Carnivore, Endosulfan, furadan, herbivore, poison, Wildlife

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