Kenya conservationists seek chemical ban as hippos die

Reuters 28 Apr 08;

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Conservationists in Kenya demanded on Monday that the government ban the pesticide carbofuran after five hippos died and four lions were paralyzed.

Rangers in the sprawling Maasai Mara game reserve found traces of the granular pesticide, which is used to kill insects in food crops, in the hippos' bodies and in areas where they grazed. The sick lions had been feeding on the hippo carcases.

Renowned Kenyan environmentalist Richard Leakey said carbofuran was extremely toxic, cheap and freely available, and he urged the government to follow the example of Europe and the United States by banning its importation and sale.

"We believe there are significant human health concerns and environmental risks associated with using this chemical, which is widely abused because it is easily available over the counter," Leakey said in a statement.

Carbofuran concerns were first raised in Kenya in the 1990s when it was reported to have killed huge numbers of birds and entered the human food chain. There have also been more recent cases of the pesticide being used intentionally to kill predators like lions and other wildlife.

(Reporting by Daniel Wallis, edited by Richard Meares)

Agricultural chemical kills wildlife in Kenya
Paul Eccleston, The Telegraph 29 Apr 08;

Conservationists in Kenya have called for a ban on an agricultural pesticide which is killing wildlife.

Four lions were poisoned - two of them fatally - after feeding on a hippo carcass found close to a river.

It is believed the hippo had eaten plants containing the toxic agricultural chemical carbofuran which was then passed to the lions.

The first signs of sickness came three days after the lions had fed when a young male was found to be weak and staggering. By the following morning it was paralysed in both front legs and was using its rear limbs in an attempt to hop.

It was quickly followed by another young male from the same pride which was in an even worse condition quickly becoming totally paralysed.

Two more males also showed signs of paralysis but were not as severely affected probably because they had eaten less meat from the infected hippo.

The first lion was put down by a Kenyan Wildlife Service vet and toxicology tests later revealed a high concentration of carbofuran in the animal's stomach.

Agencies involved in wildlife protection say poisoning incidents involving carbofuran - which is a cheap and easily available toxic pesticide - are on the rise and pose a critical threat to Kenya's animals.

Dr Richard Leakey, Chairman of WildlifeDirect.org called on the Kenyan government to impose a ban on the use of carbofuran, a member of the organophosphate family of chemicals linked to nervous system damage in humans.

"We are appealing to the government, the importer, Juanco SPs, the agrochemical association of Kenya, and the Pest Control Products Board to go the way of Europe and USA and ban the importation, sale, distribution and use of this deadly chemical in Kenya," he said.

"We believe that there are significant human health concerns and environmental risks associated with using this chemical which is widely abused because it is easily available over the counter from any Agrovet."

Concerns over the use of the chemical were first raised in the 1990s when huge numbers of waterfowl died in Ahero in western Kenya and Mwea in the central part of the country. Some of the birds were sold on for human consumption.

There are reports that it is also being used to catch fish in Lake Victoria which are also then sold in food markets.

The Kenya Wildlife Service has also been warned that carbofuran is being put down in a deliberate attempt to kill predators which threaten cattle.

Earlier this year the conservation group, Lion Guardians, reported a case of two lions intentionally poisoned in Kajiado.

Poisoning poses a serious threat to Kenya's lion population which is estimated to be down to only 2,000 individuals. Scavengers, such as vultures and birds of prey, are also being affected.

In 2004, 187 vultures died as a result of just one poisoning incident and raptor specialist, Simon Thomsett said: "If the current level of usage continues, it is possible that two different species of vultures in Kenya could go extinct within the next 10 years."

Poisoning incidents:
# November 2007: near Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Isiolo District a camel that had been killed by lions was subsequently laced with Furadan by local farmers. The result was the death of at least two lions and 15 vultures collected in the immediate vicinity of the carcass. Also recently near Lewa, a group of nine lions from the nearby Samburu reserve were poisoned, five of which died along with significant numbers of birds of prey and other scavengers.

# In April 2005 30 vultures were poisoned near Athi River.

# March 2005 a breeding Mackinder's eagle owl was a victim of secondary poisoning after eating dying mousebirds that were poisoned with Furadan by farmers near Mweiga, Nyeri District.

# April 2004 the largest known incident of vulture deaths in Kenya occurred near Athi River when 187 vultures died as a result of Furadan poisoning. The hardest hit species were white-backed vultures, but Ruppell's griffon and lappet-faced vultures also died. A large portion of the resident hyena population was also wiped out.