Yahoo News 1 May 09;
GABORONE (AFP) – Conservationists in Botswana fear that a pesticide used by the government to prevent pest birds ravaging commercial crops could kill other species, including the spectacular Kori bustard.
Officials are targeting breeding places of the quelea with aerial sprays in Panadamatenga in northern Botswana where it was reported that the birds were destroying 20 tonnes of corn per day.
Birdlife Botswana project manager Keddy Mooketsa said the quelea, which gathers in huge flocks, was troublesome as it bred quickly but that environmentally safer controls like bush burning should be used.
"That area is a breeding site for the white-backed vultures which can feed on the dead birds. The Kori bustard also is found there and it feeds on insects which would not escape the chemical."
The Kori bustard is the world's heaviest flying bird, with mature males weighing close to 20 kilogram (44 pounds), and Birdlife Botswana lists considers it to be of conservation concern.
The white-backed vulture is listed as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
"Other birds of prey which feed on the birds can also be affected," Mooketsa added.
Acting director in Botswana's department of crop production Barutwa Thebenala said recommended spray dosages of the pesticide, cyanophos, were being used.
An environmental study was under way with Britain's Greenwich University and the Plant Protection Institute.
"We are not in a position to talk about the side effects yet because we are in the middle of the study," he said.
The government is also using explosives to blast the nesting grounds of the quelea.
