Ray of hope in the fight against lion-killer pesticide

Furadan is a highly lethal agro-chemical, yet it is still in use in Kenya even as conservationists call for its ban. But, the latest news from parliament is encouraging to conservationists.

According to WildlifeDirect executive director Paula Kahumbu, through John Mututho, chairman of the Agricultural Committee, parliament has instructed that the US-based manufacturer, Farm Machinery and Chemicals (FMC) mop up the remaining furadan in Kenya and that an environmental committee be set up to draft the legal notice for the final ban.

In addition, the Wildlife Minister is to fine FMC Ksh10 million ($128,000) for every lion killed with furadan.

“For now, I think we are about 80 per cent there in terms of getting a ban on furadan in Kenya,” said Ms Kahumbu whose organisation provides a platform where conservationists meet and raise funds through blogging.

In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency has compiled vast amounts of data over the past 20 years that demonstrate the dangers of furadan for the environment.

“Granular furadan (which is what is sold in Kenya) was banned in the US in 1996 after it was found to have led to the death of two million birds a year,” Ms Kahumbu explained.

Furadan is also banned in the European Union.

The recent furadan saga started when reports of lions and vultures being poisoned began to reach Nature Kenya. Over the past six years, 62 lions have been killed by poison.

In 2004, 187 vultures died after feasting on a carcass that had been laced with furadan on the Athi-Kapiti plains adjoining the Nairobi National Park.

A study carried out by Nature Kenya in Naivasha, Kisii, Machakos and Kikuyu among other places, revealed that many farmers were using furadan to kill stray dogs, squirrels and birds. In Naivasha, says the report, flower farms used it to kill termites.

The most shocking report is the misuse in Bunyala in Western Kenya where furadan granules are soaked in water and scattered in the rice paddies, killing the small birds that feed on them instantly or disorienting larger birds that are then killed by hunters waiting nearby.

Another shocking incident is of a crowned eagle — the biggest and most powerful bird of prey, which is dwindling in numbers — that had been preying on farmers’ goats in Nyeri last year.

The farmers admitted using furadan.

The dogs fed on the laced carcass, vomited and died. The chickens fed on the vomit and they too died, proving how toxic the substance is.
In Lake Victoria, fishermen throw the granules in the water. The fish simply float to the surface making it easy for the fishermen to scoop them out and sell them to unsuspecting buyers.

Even though the government regulating body Pest Control Products Board has acknowledged fish poisoning, it denies that it is by furadan. But the concern is that furadan is now in our water bodies.