Stop Wildlife Poisoning

Bird poisoning follows a cycle in Bunyala. At planting season, water floods the fields and attracts water birds. The ducks are therefore in season at the moment and is their turn to be poisoned.

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The Open-billed Storks occur at the site in all seasons and are poisoned throughout the year. At harvest time, it will be the turn of the seedeaters and the cycle repeats. Please keep reading for the latest updates.

On Tuesday, 13 April 2010, WildlifeDirect and the WWF will be joining a battery of government officials at the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss the effect of carbofuran (Furadan) use on wildlife. This meeting has been called by the Agriculture Secretary following WildlifeDirect’s campaign to raise awareness about – and demanding action for – poisoning of lions, birds of prey and other wildlife by deliberate and unintended misuse of this lethal pesticide.

Bones - what will be left by Furadan

Though the Agriculture Secretary is acting in reaction to the Prime Ministers hard questions to the Ministry of Agriculture regarding their inaction on the issue of wildlife poisoning, it is still a welcome gesture that they are now willing to discuss this weighty matter. WildlifeDirect had written to the Prime Minister as a last resort after Ministry officials and the bosses at the Pest Control Products Board failed to respond decisively to reports of wildlife poisoning that we supplied.

Tomorrow’s meeting comes in a time when FMC is going to court in a last ditch to try and rescue Furadan in the parent country, the USA. FMC, through their lawyers, will be defending their appeal to stop a US-wide ban on the product. Should their appeal fail, then it will be a victory for wildlife at the very source of the lion-killer pesticide. Elsewhere, FMC has affirmed that even though they are defending their product in the mother country, they have no intention of re-introducing it back to Kenya (and East Africa), where they have withdrawn it from the market.

Even as this is going on, the wrath of this indiscriminate killer has been felt in Scotland where the number of birds of prey diying of pesticide poisoning is on the rise. A report by Severin Carrell, Scotland correspondent for the Guardian UK, has revealed that up to 27 birds of prey were poisoned in 2009. The report says that this is one of the worst years for wildlife crime in the country.

“The majority of poisonings carried out across Scotland use Carbofuran, an illegal pesticide in the UK which is also potentially dangerous to humans. It is thought that old stocks of the chemical, which was banned in Britain in 2001, are still being used.” Says another report published at the end of March in the Edinburgh Evening News.

And in Botswana, 40 white-backed vultures were killed in one poisoning incident in Lesoma (a village in North-West District of Botswana) on the week that started on 8 March. In a report appearing in one of Botswana’s leading online paper, MmegiOnline, the poisoning follows another incident in January where 15 white-backed vultures were found dead at Tito village cattle-post after they were poisoned. And in November last yeat, according to the same article in MmegiOnline, “50 globally threatened vultures were poisoned in the Xudum Concession in the fringes of the Okavango. In the incident white-backed and hooded vultures, together with yellow-billed kites, were found dead at two giraffe carcases that had been laced with poison.”

It is incidents like this that motivate us at WildlifeDirect and the Stop Wildlife Poisoning Committee to keep fighting for the ban of this dangerous pesticide here in Kenya as an example to other African and non-African states so that the whole world can be rid of this pestilence.

We will inform you of the outcome of our meeting with the Kenya government officials.

According to internet sources, “FMC and three national growers groups filed a petition in November 2009 with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging EPA’s action to deny an Administrative Hearing. In December 2009, the court denied a request for a stay, granted our request for expedited review, and granted the request of CLA and others to file amicus briefs. Both the EPA and FMC filed briefs and the court heard oral arguments this past Monday, March 22. As is generally the case, the judges did not decide from the bench, and instead will issue their ruling by written opinion. While there is no fixed deadline for publication, we expect a decision within two to five months.”

And, Salem-news.com reports that “Opening arguments were heard in an appeal starting yesterday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that will decide the fate of carbofuran, one of the most toxic pesticides to birds. American Bird Conservancy (ABC) – the nation’s leading bird conservation organization – hopes the judge’s gavel will sound the death knell for this chemical in the United States, which is thought to have caused the deaths of tens of millions of birds since its use began in 1965.

Carbofuran, which is produced by FMC Corp, is an insecticide used to kill pests on corn, soy beans, cotton, potatoes, and other crops. It has already been much restricted, with the most dangerous, granular formulation that was estimated by the EPA to have killed up to three million birds per year (though other estimates suggest up to 90 million birds were killed), banned in 1994 and restricted uses only to the liquid formulation, which is also highly toxic. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began the process of cancelling all uses in 2006. In an unprecedented move, FMC fought the cancellation, necessitating a protracted Agency hearing process and court battle leading to today’s final appeal”

Well things are hotting up here in Kenya too.

In response to our complaints and reports, the Ministry of Agriculture has created a task force to address the problem of Furadan and our first meeting is tomorrow. At that meeting will be government departments as well as industry and NGO participants. We are hoping  to impress on the stakeholders, the need for a precautionary approach when dealing with pesticides in this country. To date the Ministry of Agriculture and the Pest Control Products Board have been stating that Furadan is a “safe pesticide” and that the “benefits outweigh the harm”.

We do not know what this judgement is based on as we are not aware of any research that proves thisn, or any regular monitoring of howt eh pesticide is being distributed, used, whether proper use is enforced, or monitoring of residues on food crops, impacts on health or environmental.

Based on our own work we know that the labeled instructions are hardly ever implemented due to lack of safety materials (gloves, overalls, boots, face masks, air filters), most farmers do not store this or any pesticide under lock and key, and the pesticides are used in water ways, in irrigation schemes and for elimination of vermin all of which is against the instructions on the label. When people are harmed by this pesticide they do not report to the PCPB  or national Poison board. According to one agrovet and a victim we spoke to, there is no guidance for treatment of pesticide poisoning, they simply advise users to drink water or milk, and eat raw eggs as a remedy.

Though FMC and our government agencies have not exactly been sympathetic about the impacts  of carbofuran on wildlife, I keep reminding our friends that we should not feel so helpless. Our Pesticide control laws are on our side. The Pesticide Control Act allows for the Minister for Agriculture to ban any registered pesticide if new information becomes available; The EPA revocation of carbofuran tolerances in USA constitutes new information and this is something they cannot deny. No country in Africa can afford a Silent Spring, Kenya can be proud to lead the way on saying no to becoming a pesticide dumping ground for pesticides banned in the west.

As Richard Leakey says “If Furadan is not safe enough for use in America, then it’s not safe enough for us to use in Africa”

The problem of pesticide poisoning of predators is not unique to Kenya. All across Africa pesticides are being used as an easy and effective way of killing. A case in point is the recent tragic poisoning of 40 critically endangered vultures in Botswana. Though the pesticide has not been identified, it is extremely potent and took only minute to kill the birds. The tragedy is that these  birds were killed on the edge of the Okovango Swamp. They were the casualty in an attempt to kill lions and hyenas. Despite the heavy  penalties in Botswana the poisoning of wildlife using pesticides is driving vultures to extinction.

Although FMC have removed Fruadan from teh shelves in Kenya,  we are asking our government for a complete ban on Carbofuran to prevent other producers from distributing it, and to make the message crystal clear. We want Agrovets that are storing this and other  unapproved products to know that it is illegal and to enable enforcement officers to take action. To date the Governmetn of Kenya has been mum on the hazards posed by Furadan and carbofuran based pesticides.

So, wherever you are, please keep us in your thoughts and send positive vibrations tomorrow. We will presenting new evidence of the lion deaths near Amboseli as well as the preliminary findings of Martins research in the irrigation schemes.

Keep supporting us, we are confident that we can make progress on this deadly pesticide.

Keep reading this blog for updates

Working during the holiday season is not a chore when you get to do blogging from the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

I spent the last few days with Antony Kasanga of Lion Guardians Blog who has been educating his community about the need to protect lions. This season a new generation of young Masai men are being initiated to the Moran, or warrior class. Killing lions has been a tradition to prove their bravery. Now the older moran like Antony are asking the youth to discard that tradition, and to take pride in saving lions. Afterall, conservation gives people like Antony a job and only those with jobs survived the recent drought without much loss. More than 80% of the cattle in the area died during the drought. As their only source of wealth is livestock, this has left many of the Masai destitute.

During a meeting Menye Laiyiok meeting, fathers of the uncircumcised boys prepare their sons for a serious life of adult hood and how to be good warriors.

This meeting held a special message that survival depends on the conservation of wildlife in this area. Without wildlife, especially lions, tourists would not come here. Antony spoke specifically about the need to discard the old ways of poisoning lions with Furadan – a message that some were not happy to hear as it’s an easy way of making a kill and getting rid of this feared predator.

Thank fully people on Mbirikani Ranch have no reason to poach predators because there is a predation compensation fund that enables losses to be recovered at least in part. Reuben Ole Silati is the predator verification officer and is verifying that this goat was actually killed by a hyena.

Dear Friends,

We have just heard from the Defenders of Wildlife that the DC Circuit yesterday rejected a request by FMC Corporation, the manufacturer of carbofuran, and several U.S. users of carbofuran, for a stay of EPA’s decision to revoke food tolerances of the deadly pesticide. FMC and some organizations were trying to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing their decision at the end of this year.

This court ruling means that the EPA’s decision to revoke all tolerances of carbofuran will take effect after December 31, 2009.

However it does not affect exports of Furadan – one of the the primary causes of death of lions in Africa.

The Defenders of Wildlife are running their own campaign to ban Carbofuran.

Its not just in Kenya, activivists in Thiland have just reported that Carbofuran in Thailand is a major Public Health Risk

In Research on 22/11/2009 at 1:33 pmTo be translated and distributed at the upcoming  ?????????????????????????????????? ???????? 9 (The 9th National Plant Protection Conference)

For background information, please visit our report Turning Crisis Into Opportunity and our first press release

Ubon Ratchatani, Thailand, 23 November 2009 – Following the incident surrounding the plant disease “natural disaster”[1] in Kudchum district, Yasothon province, the AAN has compiled further research to raise public awareness about the impacts of carbofuran (Furadan) on the environment and human health.

The Alternative Agriculture Network – Esan (AAN) is a network of more than 3,000 small-scale farmers, working to develop sustainable agricultural techniques, support local food systems and community livelihoods.  We also monitor agriculture and trade policies at both the domestic and international levels.  The continued promotion of chemical fertilizer and pesticide imports is of major concern to our network, given the Thai government’s spoken commitment to supporting small-scale farmers and organic agriculture.

Carbofuran is a broad spectrum, systemic insecticide that is used on a range of crops, including rice, corn, watermelon, eggplant, and a number of other fruit and vegetable crops.  Thailand imports over ten thousand tons of carbofuran per year. In 2004, Thailand exported to neighboring countries 1,160 tons of insecticides, 1,203 tons of fungicides, and 1,333 tons of herbicides.[2]

Carbofuran is highly toxic and depresses the human nervous system. Pesticide poisonings have stayed at a low level since the late 1990s, but unsafe levels of blood cholinesterase activity (direct result of carbamate chemicals) has doubled from about 15% to 30% by occupation in Thailand.  Farmers are reported to have the highest number of poisonings within 2,342 cases in 2003.[3] The Extension Toxicology Network has found symptoms of carbofuran poisoning to include, “nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, sweating, diarrhea, excessive salivation, weakness, imbalance, blurring of vision, breathing difficulty, increased blood pressure, and incontinence. Death may result at high doses from respiratory system failure associated with carbofuran exposure.”[4]

Canada and the EU have banned carbofuran since 2008.  The United States Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) recently banned its use, finding that “Exposure to the pesticide carbofuran resulting from existing legal uses is unsafe—unsafe for the general population, and particularly unsafe for infants and children.”[5] Carbofuran commonly causes burns on the skin and eyes of farmers, but there is a range of serious impacts on farmer health.  Long-term effects may include permanent damage to both the nervous and reproductive systems.[6]

In a 1998 carbofuran exposure case study by The Centers for Disease Control, 34 cotton farm workers reported nausea, headache, eye irritation, muscle weakness, tearing, vomiting, and salivation.[7] Additionally, thirteen cases of unintentional carbofuran poisoning in farm workers were examined between January 2002 and August 2004.  The patients reported nausea, vomiting, headache, weakness, dizziness and blurred vision.[8] In a 2005 study of pesticide applicators in the United States, it was found that the risk of lung cancer was 3 times higher for those with more than 109 of lifetime exposure to carbofuran than those with less than 9 days of lifetime exposure to the chemical.[9]

Carbofuran poses significant environmental risks.  Because of its long soil half-life (up to 60 days) carbofuran also has a high potential for groundwater contamination and is mobile in sandy and silt loam soils.[10] Compared to other pesticide residues tested in water resources in Fang and Chaiprakan districts, Chiang Mai province, carbamate residues, including carbofuran, were found at the highest levels, between 0.018 and 0.269 micrograms per liter (ug/L).[11]

The use of pesticides also has significant impacts on ecological systems.  Carbofuran pellets often resemble plant seeds commonly eaten by birds and are often applied on newly cultivated soil.  One highly toxic granule can kill a small bird and carbofuran moves up the food chain when birds are eaten by predatory species.  This chemical is also highly toxic to fish, and is believed to be one of the main contributors to the reduction of salmon populations in the northwestern United States.  It is also highly toxic to catfish, a fish commonly consumed in Thailand.  In early 2009, it was reported that carbofuran was being used to poison African lions in Kenya.

Consumers also risk serious health effects from pesticide residues on food and drinking water contamination.  It is our understanding that carbofuran is on the government’s “Dangerous Chemicals Watch List.”  This dangerous agrochemical should be banned in Thailand and Thailand must work to be a leader in regional food safety.  Ending the use of carbofuran will positively address the current public health crisis affecting farmers and ecological systems throughout Thailand.

The Alternative Agriculture Network – Esan (AAN) monitors agricultural and trade policies in order to support and defend the rights of small-scale farmers. The AAN works to develop appropriate and sustainable alternatives for community food security.  For more information about our network, please visit aanesan.wordpress.com or sathai.org

###

Contact:

Bennett Haynes

aanesan.wordpress.com

bennett.haynes@gmail.com

(+66) 867941588

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.

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.

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.

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.