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76 lions, 24 hippos, truck loads of birds killed by
Furadan
Category: Masai Mara, Pesticides, carbofuran, lions | Date: Jun 06
2009 | By: paula
While we await the
formal hansard or parliamentary transcripts regarding the
discussion on whether to ban carbofuran in Kenya, this is the
summary of what transpired in parliament last Tuesday according to
KWS. Note the final table that documents a alarming number of
affected species. In recommendations it is suprising that KWS does
not come out strongly and recommend banning carbofuran.
MINISTRY OF FORESTRY AND
WILDLIFE
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO. 087
The member for Naivasha (Hon. John Mututho, MP) to ask the Minister
for Environment and Mineral Resources:
(a) If the Minister is aware of the airing of a damaging
documentary on the Kenya in International Media on the 14th April,
2009 CBS, a television network in USA, regarding death of lions in
a Kenyan park?
(b) If he can confirm that the pride of Seven (7) lions found dead
in the parks were as a result of Furadan Poisoning ; and
(c) When the Minister will, through NEMA, effect immediate ban of
Furadan chemical, pending further investigations?
ANSWER
Mr. Speaker Sir, I beg to reply:
(a) I am aware of the airing of a documentary on Sunday, March 29th
2009 at 7 pm Eastern Time in the U.S on the CBS television network
on lion deaths in Kenya occasioned by a pesticide locally known as
Furadan. Although, the documentary was not screened on any of
Kenya’s television stations, a commentary appeared in one of the
daily news papers indicating that 75 lions were killed by furadan
poisoning throughout the country. Records kept by KWS indicate that
indeed 76 lions were killed by such poisoning between 2001 and
2009. Of these, 3 lions died of such poisoning in the Mara in March
of 2008.
(b) No; I can not confirm that the seven (7) lions aired in this
documentary were as a result of Furadan Poisoning.
Records at the KWS indicate that only five lions died in the year
2008 as a result of Furadan poisoning. These incidences happened in
the Mara Triangle and the Amboseli ecosystem areas were three and
two cases were respectively reported and confirmed by the
government chemist and through confessions by the people who
poisoned the animals.
(c) Following the lion poisoning cases in the Mara, Farm Machinery
and Chemicals (FMC) the US manufacturer of furadan stopped further
importation of the product to the country and further to the CBS
documentary; FMC is in the process of buying back furadan from the
Kenyan market.
In addition my Ministry is spearheading the creation of an
Inter-Ministerial Task Force on Wildlife Poisoning in Kenya that
will provide leadership and guidance on this matter.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Furadan and its effects
Carbofuran is the most toxic of the carbamate pesticides. It is
manufactured under the trade name Furadan by Farm Machinery and
Chemicals (FMC) Corporation of the US. Its correct use is to
control pests in a wide variety of field crops.
Furadan usage has increased in recent years in Kenya as it is
available in 88% of agro vet outlets. As Furadan is highly toxic to
wildlife and is affordable, people have found it easier and simpler
to use it against wildlife. Laboratory tests have shown that acute
oral toxicity occurs in domestic cats at a consumption rate of
2.5-3.5mg/kg of body weight. A cat that weighs 3kg requires as low
as 7.5mg to cause death. When this is extrapolated for lions whose
average weight is 189kg, it would take 472.5mg (0.47g) to kill an
adult lion (315mg for an adult lioness whose average weight is
126kg). This indicates the low dosages of Furadan can cause chronic
toxicity in lions.
Several cases of Furadan poisoning have been reported to KWS with
some cases being confirmed by the Government Chemist and or by
confessions made by people who poisoned the animals. These cases
reported to KWS span from the period between 1995 to 2008. Records
indicate a total of 76 lions have been killed in this manner.
Our major concern is that the number of reports of Furadan
associated wildlife deaths in Kenya are on the increase. Moreover,
Furadan is an agrochemical that should be used in agriculture but
majority of the cases reported occurred far away from agricultural
areas indicating that furadan is intentionally used to kill
wildlife, especially carnivores. The attached tables gives a
summary of wildlife killed by Furadan poisoning since 1995 to date
and table two indicates the lions killed by Furadan poisoning from
2002 to date.
Species Number Killed
Carnivores:
Lions 76
Hyena 15
Silver backed jackals 2
Birds:
Vultures 252
Hammercop 8
Fulvous ducks In Pick up Truck loads
White-faced Tree Duck In Pick up Truck loads
Knob-billed duck In Pick up Truck loads
Egyptian Geese In Pick up Truck loads
Ibis In Pick up Truck loads
Egrets In Pick up Truck loads
Spoonbills In Pick up Truck loads
Back-winged stilts In Pick up Truck loads
Storks In Pick up Truck loads
unspecified raptors In Pick up Truck loads
White-faced Whistling Duck 1
Mourning Dove 7
Laughing Dove 1
Helmeted Guinea fowl 3
Speckled Pigeon 1
Wattled Starling 1
Fan-tailed Widowbird 16
Open-billed Stork 1
Herbivores:
Hippopotamus 24
COUNTER
MEASURES.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the equivalent of NEMA
in the US, proposed the banning of furadan in the US on 24th July
2008 because of concerns similar to ours. The Farm Machinery and
Chemicals Company (FMC) Corporation has since stopped all shipments
of this product to Kenya and is in the process of buying back the
product in the Kenyan Market.
This is a relief to Kenya; however there is need for intense Public
education and awareness creation about the correct use of
pesticides and their effects both negative and positive on the
environment.
The situation is now critical as numerous other pesticides are
available in the Kenyan market that can potentially be misused to
kill wildlife and their ecosystems. KWS recommends the formation of
an Inter-ministerial Task Force on Wildlife Poisoning which will
provide leadership in this matter. The task force would comprise
key stakeholders that include but not limited to KWS, PCPB, AAK,
DVS, NEMA, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Public
Health.
Paula’s comments
Readers should be aware that we were informed that the Minister for
Wildlife directed that the inter-ministerial task force be created
more than a year ago - just after the lion poisoning incident was
reported in the Mara. To date it has not been formed. We hope that
the Parliamentary instructions will be followed.
We at WildlifeDirect and many other conservationists welcome the
openness and transparency that we are seeing from KWS over the
poisoning of wildlife issues. We restate our desire to work closely
with KWS on this and other conservation issues in and beyond Kenya.
We also welcome FMC’s buy back and withdrawal of Furadan.
However the voluntary withdrawal is just not good enough for 3 key
reasons.
1. FMC retains the right to re-introduce Furadan at any time
2. Furadan has been shown to be unsafe for use in USA where
tolerance levels have been revoked by the EPA. If it s not safe
enough for Americans, then it’s not safe enough for us, or anyone
anywhere. See how most birds died in pick
-up truck loads! These were
accidental poisonings related to the proper use of carbofuran. How
can we condone such a pesticide in a country that is renown for its
wildlife?
3. A ban creates the necessary awareness that KWS correctly states
is essential to fight the devastating effects of wildlife
poisoning.
We will continue to support the call for a total ban on carbofuran
in Kenya and East Africa. Please help us, support this campaign and
join us in the fight against carbofuran poisoning of wildlife.
Thank you all for your great support.
Tags: , carbofuran, FMC, furadan, Kenya, lion poisoning, Masai
Mara, Wildlife
Furadan
- the greatest threat to Kenyas lions
Category: Masai Mara, Pesticides, carbofuran, lions | Date: Jun 05
2009 | By: paula
At a recent meeting, Ms. Alayne Cotteril explained that the misuse
of carbofuran (sold as Furadan in Kenya) in Kenya could push
Kenya’s few remaining lions over the threshold and into
extinction. Living with
Lions is an organization
managed by Dr Laurence Frank that believes the most urgent threat
to lions today is the widespread use of poison to kill them in
retaliation for depredation on livestock. This is their
message.
Masai cow killed by lion
When lions or hyenas kill a cow, they eat part of it and come back
the next night to finish the carcass. Livestock owners have learned
that a universally available agricultural pesticide carbofuran
(marketed as Furadan) is lethal to predators – they need only
sprinkle a few cents worth of carbofuran on the carcass and any
mammal or bird which feeds on it will die.
This cow (above), found by one of LWL’s Lion Guardians was killed
by lions and partially eaten. They returned to the carcass the next
night, providing an easy opportunity for a potential lion
poisoner.
Lion poisoned with carbofuran
LWL has evidence of over 60 lions poisoned in just our Laikipia and
Kilimanjaro study areas, sometimes whole prides at once. These are
a small fraction of the predators actually killed by poison,
because in the vast expanse of African rangelands, relatively few
come to the attention of researchers or the authorities.
We frequently learn of a poisoning when we find one of our collared
lions dead. The animals are often found next to a poisoned
livestock carcass.
Richard Bonham’s evidence of large scale lion and hyena poisoning
in 2001-2 motivated the establishment of his Predator Compensation Fund
and LWL’s Kilimanjaro Lion Conservation
Project. More recently
the Amboseli Predator
Project has been started
by LWL to investigate the problem in another area of
Maasailand.
vulture poisoned with carbofuran
Carbofuran, which is banned in the US and Europe because of its
lethal effects on wildlife, is sold throughout agricultural areas
of Kenya. It is legitimately used as an insecticide and nematicide,
but one need only ask any agricultural supply shop for something to
kill stray dogs, hyena or lions, and for about $1.50 they will sell
a small plastic jar of carbofuran granules, enough to kill a whole
pride of lions or clan of hyenas.
Although poisoned predators are rarely found by conservationists, a
more visible effect of predator poisoning is the disappearance of
vultures and some species of eagles from the skies of Kenya. These
also feed on poison-laced livestock carcasses or the bodies of dead
lions and hyenas and are also killed, sometimes dozens at a
time.
Some vulture species have become nearly extinct in Kenya and others
are severely reduced. Elsewhere, carbofuran is also reported to be
used for poisoning fish for human consumption, and crocodiles for
their skins.
What
can be done?
In the short term, Kenya must ban the importation and sale of
carbofuran and replace its legitimate agricultural use with other
pesticides which cannot be abused to kill wildlife.
However, in the long term, we must find ways to make predators more
valuable to the rural people who share the land with wildlife. So
long as wild animals are regarded by people as an expensive
nuisance rather than a valuable resource, wildlife in Africa will
continue to decline, eaten as cheap bush meat, poisoned and speared
as pests.
Lion cub
In a world increasingly dominated by humans, crops and livestock,
all Living with Lions programs are focused on this one ultimate
challenge to conservation.
Tags: carbofuran, FMC, furadan, Kenya, Lion conservation, lions,
living with lions, Poisoning wildlife
Mara
lion poisoning incident update
Category: Masai Mara, Pesticides, carbofuran, lions | Date: Jun 04
2009 | By: paula
KWS highly suspect that Furadan (carbofuran) was used to kill the
lion, hyenas and 36 vultures in the Masai Mara on the 25th June.
Although sample analysis had not yet been concluded, all signs
point to Furadan. We applaud KWS and the Narok warden of the Mara
for taking such swift action on this incident and for arresting the
perpetrators of this destruction. Our own inquiries suggest that up
to 8 other lions of this pride my have been affected by this
poisoning incident, though this has not been confirmed.
AP put out this press
release today
MASAI MARA, Kenya - Kenya’s 2,000 lions are at grave risk from
repeated drought and a poisonous pesticide that wildlife officials
on Thursday blamed for at least 76 deaths since 2001.
The problems have contributed to the country’s lion population
falling by 700 in the last six years, said Charles Musyoki, a
senior scientist with the Kenya Wildlife Service. The figures were
based on counts carried out every two years.
Officials in the protected 1,510-sq. kilometers (585-sq. miles) of
the Masai Mara National Reserve showed an Associated Press reporter
on Wednesday the remains of an 8-month-old lion and 36 dead
vultures that fed on a tainted cow carcass.
Government scientists are still analyzing samples to determine the
poison that killed the animals.
Government scientists say that at least 76 lions have been killed
since 2001 after eating prey contaminated by a pesticide marketed
as Furadan by Philadelphia-based FMC Corp.
FMC Corp. did not immediately return phone and e-mail messages
seeking comment Thursday.
The pesticide is used in Kenya to control insects on crops such as
corn, rice and sorghum.
Pesticide imports
stopped
Forestry and Wildlife Minister Noah Wekesa told Parliament on
Tuesday that FMC has stopped the importation of Furadan into
Kenya.
Chief Warden James Sindiyo
KHALIL SENOSI / AP
Warden James Sindiyo at the remains of an 8-month-old lion and 36
vultures in Masai Mara National Reserve.
FMC has said it stopped sales of Furadan to Kenya following a
report in May 2008 that the pesticide may have been involved in
poisoning lions and has instituted a buyback program in Kenya to
remove any remaining product from the market.
Musyoki said that herdsmen were also killing lions to protect their
livestock that share the large semi-arid reserves with the
lions.
The official said the herdsmen had to be taught the importance of
the animals to the economy. Tourists flock to the country to see
Kenya’s big five — the lion, buffalo, elephant, leopard and
rhino.
“I don’t foresee a time when we can eliminate the lion-human
conflict but we can minimize it,” said Musyoki. “The only bank
account a pastoralist has is his animal. If a lion kills two cows
out of four … that is like the disappearance of 50 percent of his
account.”
Tags: carbofuran, FMC, furadan, Lion, lion killing, lions, Masai
Mara, Wildlifedirect
5 responses so far
Furadan
used to kill moles in Baringo
Category: Masai Mara, Pesticides, carbofuran, lions | Date: Jun 03
2009 | By: paula
A colleague dropped in to our office to tell me that the buy back
program was working well in Baringo where farmers were up in arms
because they can no longer purchase their favourite ‘mole
killer’.
Listen to this interview and send us your thoughts.
Tags: , Baringo, carbofuran, FMC, furadan, JUANCO, Kenya, moles,
Pesticides
One response so far
Voice
of America on Furadan
Category: Masai Mara, Pesticides, carbofuran | Date: Jun 02 2009 |
By: paula
This article has just been published on Voice Of America and aired
on radio here
As Wildlife Dies, Kenya Considers Pesticide Ban
02 June 2009
Lion poisoned by Furadan - WildlifeDirect
In Kenya, parliament is being asked to ban a pesticide that’s been
blamed for the deaths of hundreds of animals, including many lions.
Kenyan MP John Matutho is introducing legislation to prohibit the
use of Furadan – a cheap but lethal chemical originally
manufactured by the US based FMC Corporation.
The conservation group Wildlife Direct supports the ban, which
would replace a buy-back program for Furadan. It says local
herdsmen are using it to poison lions and other carnivores
threatening their livestock.
In Nairobi, WildlifeDirect executive director Dr. Paula Kahumbu
says, “This is a pesticide that has recently been banned in the
United States. It’s also banned in Europe because it’s been found
to be unsafe to be used even if we follow the label instructions.…
It’s one of the most dangerous pesticides actually available at the
moment.”
It’s readily obtainable over the counter in Africa. “It’s very,
very cheap. In fact, it’s probably the cheapest pesticide
available,” she says.
Deadly
to wildlife
In the early 1990s, it was discovered that water birds were dying
large numbers after Furadanwas used in some irrigation
systems.
“So that’s when people realized it was just devastating wildlife.
And later on, the local communities realized it was powerful
against almost any animal. In fact, birds are very sensitive, but
so are cats,” she says.
Lions
fall prey to Furadan
“We know over 60 lions that have been killed in the last two years
and that’s probably the tip of the iceberg. And Kenya today has
fewer than 2,100 lions remaining. We used to have over 30,000,”
says Kahumbu.
Is the buyback plan working? The head of WildlifeDirect says, “The
Furadan withdrawal and buyback is working in the sense that FMC is
effectively withdrawing it from the shelves. The problem is the
patents that FMC had have expired and Furadan, or carbofuran, is
being produced now by Chinese, Indian and Pakistani
companies.”
The conservation group fears that means unless a ban is imposed,
the pesticide will easily find its way back to Kenya.
The chemical attacks the nervous system and only small amounts can
kill an animal. It can also be fatal to humans if ingested.
“It takes only a quarter of a teaspoon to kill people, “says
Kahumbu. She says lower concentrations can cause neurological
problems, such as paralysis and breathing problems.
“This has been documented in other countries. It hasn’t been
documented in Kenya. And I suspect it’s purely because there’s
absolutely no monitoring system in place,” she says.
Enforcing a
ban
“It’ll be easy to enforce in that if anybody is found using it
there would automatically be very stringent responses. People would
be arrested. They probably would be fined or maybe even go to
jail,” she says.
Once a ban is imposed, she says, an education campaign can begin
warning of the health dangers of Furadan and the risks of
punishment for using it.
Tags: carbofuran, FMC, JUANCO, Kenya, Pesticides, poison, VOA,
Voice of America, Wildlife
No responses yet
Another
lion poisoned in the Mara
Category: Masai Mara, carbofuran, lions | Date: May 28 2009 | By:
paula
We have just heard from a reliable source that at least 35
vultures, one lion and a few hyeanas were poisoned bye the
Olololaimutiak gate in the Masai Mara last week.
Masai mara map
We are in the process of finding out if this is Furadan. It
certainly sounds like Furadan from reports so far. Evidence will be
collected and hopefully the government will conduct a full
investigation to find out what happened, and to charge the
offenders.
This week alone we have submitted four reports of wildlife
poisoning that have occurred in the last 6 weeks or so, to the Pest
Products Control Board in Nairobi. They are responsible for
regulating the use of pesticides in Kenya and. Although we have not
yet heard back from them, we are confident that they will conduct
investigations and get back to us.
All suspected wildlife poisoning incidents that involve Furadan are
also being forwarded to FMC who are working closely with the
government regulators in Kenya.
One very positive outcome of this blog has been the general raising
of awareness that there is somewhere to report the poisoning of
wildlife in Kenya. To be more effective we need to reach other
corners of Kenya and this takes time and money. Please share this
information with your friends and networks and help us raise
adequate funding to extend our work and reach more people and
places where wildlife is silently dying.
One of our goals is to produce educational materials to share with
the communties that are poisoning wildlife out of ignorance. Any
help that you can provide towards this work would be greatly
appreciated.
Post
Script
After posting this article I sent word out on twitter to find out
if it was true and I got this response from Kimojino who tweets as
@maratriangle “@paulakahumbu It’s true, over on other side of Mara.
A revenge killing after the cows were killed by lions, while
grazing IN the reserve.”
We’re trying to find out if it was Furadan
Tags: Birds, carbofuran, FMC, furadan, lions, Masai Mara, Poisoning
wildlife, Wildlifedirect
3 responses so far
Detoxication
of Furadan
Category: Masai Mara, carbofuran, lions | Date: Mar 06 2009 | By:
Martin Odino
Hi. Every evening after a scorching daytime heat we would patiently
doze before our lap top screens waiting for our modems to pick up
some modest internet connection to enable us get online. On our
last night of our reconnaisance in Bunyala, somehow we could not
doze or get down to some work online.
One woman narrated how she had bought a poisoned bird for her
visiting ailing nephew for a special meal for the two of them that
day. Earlier on that afternoon, we had been shown how a
furadan-poisoned bird meat had to be prepared to rid it of the
poison. Clearly, the hunters and consumers seemed well aware of
furadan’s toxicity and said the special preparation of the meat
rendered it safe.
The hunter and his wife also consumers of the poison-killed bird
meat insisted that the meat had to be smoked and left to dry on
heat till sizzling stoped and no more fluids dripped from the meat.
Normal cooking then followed and with this you were guaranteed of
no intoxication from the deadly ingredient in furadan.
smoked-meat.JPG
Smoked wild bird meat. Once cooked, locals declare it fit for human
consumption
I am not convinced that this method frees the meat entirelely of
the furadan toxins especially because the hunter’s wife has for a
while been sick and has a walking problem. Furadan?What we know is
that lions in the mara intoxicated by furadan suffered limb
paralysis. At Mwea rice scheme, another poisoning hot spot, wild
ducks cooked without being smoked and consumed are blamed to cause
stiffness especially in the knee joints of humans.
Tags: Bunyala, furadan, lions, wild birds Mwea rice scheme
4 responses so far
Poisoning
News: Quite good and….still bad
Category: Masai Mara, Uncategorized, carbofuran, lions | Date: Aug
06 2008 | By: Martin Odino
MWEA,
SAMBURU, KANO PLAINS, MARA FINDINGS
Hi all. I have been back in the office for 3 days having just
toured some of the areas where there has been documentation of
carbofuran poisoning. All seems well at the gaze with the full
spectacle of the wild animals and birds feeding, playing and even
in the act that will culminate in breeding. But is all really well?
Indeed it is good news of no poisoning for some places and still
bad news of poisoning for others. Nonetheless, for the good news I
managed a smile on the last day or is it night of the trip.
dsc_9937.JPG
Yesterday I received a call alert (‘flash’) from an unfamiliar
number. I flashed back but no return flash to signify any urgency.
I ignored the number but while I scrolled through my call log to
make another call this morning, I stumbled on the number that I was
flashed with yesterday. It then struck my mind that I had noted
down some numbers during the field trip. I checked my field note
book and there I stumbled on it! It belonged to a certain guy in
Mwea who I had approached and faked that I needed bird meat. We had
then fixed a meeting for early this month. We agreed that he would
alert me when he was ready and that he would link me with a bird
meat vendor who poisoned the birds. You would not suspect that such
a deal can take place in such a place especially given that
everybody else seemed busy planting rice.
In the neighbourhood of Kisumu town, in Kano plains, some
kilometres past the site that was Ahero Rice Scheme, there is an
out grower scheme where locals are growing rice on individual rice
plots. During a short stop over, I observed a lot of birds flocked
in the place and a couple of farmers were out working in their
plots. I talked to one old woman to know if the birds were not a
problem at harvest time. She said they were indeed but her
grandchildren would chase them away by wails and beating of metal
cans. I then asked her if she thought killing of some of the birds
would be a solution but she said she did not think it was necessary
adding that in any case, birds were being poisoned for meat. I then
confirmed that after all, there is poisoning in the area. For a
while there was on-going bird poisoning in Ahero Rice Scheme but
with the stalling of the operations of the rice scheme, bird
congregations have reduced and Furadan supply for use in the
irrigation scheme also cut, bringing a cessation in the poisoning
frenzy.
Samburu NR seemed all tranquil, with the expected heat dominating
the local climatic conditions and emphasizing ‘this is Samburu’.
For three days I roamed the reserve with my friend and spotted many
carnivores and scavengers. We got to see six lionesses in total but
were disturbed that we had spotted no lions absolutely during the
three whole-day drives around the national reserve. In fear that
poisoning might have taken the lives of quite many of these I ended
up talking to an expert in the area who advised me to relax and
that the kings of the jungle were around, not always in company of
their ‘wives’ and there were strategic localities where these could
be found. I was glad the place was safe for the time despite
earlier recorded incidences of carnivore poisoning in the area,
though she added that she was in the process of getting to find out
more about poisoning in the area.
Masai Mara also turned out looking good. I even passed by the Mara
Conservancy incognito. The area has had the most recently
documented cases of poisoning-this year, 2008. With hippos and
lions as the reported victims, both seemed to do just fine. It was
captivating witnessing lion/lionesses feasting, playing and in the
act of breeding in one encounter.
The lioness below took advantage and got “the lion’s share!”
_dsc9907.JPG
while the lion paid attention to his queen in an imminently heated
up act that would bring forth another generation!
The vultures on the other hand looked good sprawled on the grass,
not dead but waiting for thermals.
_dsc9966.JPG
While others did not mind the flies after an unpoisoned meal.
_dsc9912.JPG
_dsc9911.JPG
Generally the presence of the Gnu on the first of their biannual
migration to and from (Tanzania for this case) Kenya and Tanzania
enhanced the bountifulness of wildlife in the Mara. Isn’t this
beautiful?
_dsc9963.JPG
_dsc9956.JPG
Keep reading our Wildlife Direct’s blog for the latest in the
wildlife poisoning scene.
Tags: Kano Plains, Masai Mara, Mwea Rice Scheme, poisoning, Samburu
National Reserve, Wildlife Direct
4 responses so far
Paralysed
lion video
Category: Masai Mara, carbofuran, lions | Date: Apr 29 2008 | By:
admin
Greetings everyone, this is the first post of a multi authored STOP
WILDLIFE POISONING blog.
Our meeting last week in Nairobi revealed the shocking damage that
carbofurans are having on Kenya’s wildlife and led to a press
release on Monday by Richard Leakey that has already attracted much
local and international interest by the Daily Telegraph here,
Reuters here FM radio here and in India here. The story has been
picked up on several blogs like Not Honey here and Ethics and
Animals here as well as here and Yubanet here. We expect the story
to continue to generate interest.
This video taken by a vet Asuka shows the debilitating effect of
secondary poisoning on a lion after it ate a hippopotamus that had
died of carbofuran poisoning in the famous Masai Mara game
reserve.
This incident raises grave concern about the toxic levels of
pesticides that are entering into an otherwise pristine ecosystem,
this could have been due to inappropriate use locally, or even
possibly from agricultural areas may kilometers away. Either way,
it shows just how dangerous this chemical is in Kenya.
We are looking for a good name for our campaign - In the USA there
is a group called the Poison Action Network North America (PANNA),
in UK there is the Campaign Against Illegal Poisoning of Wildlife
(CAIP).
Sadly, the poisoning of wildlife is not unique to Kenya and big
cats, but is also a problem across the sea - conservationists in
the USA are raising awareness about the attempts by the city
authorities in Philadelphia to rid parks of rats has wiped out
squirrels. Humans are notoriously good at creating more problems
than they solve.
