Martin Odino - National Museums of Kenya At Kenya’s Bunyala Rice Scheme, Wood Sandpiper are being poisoned to be sold for meat. Zoom In

Wildlife poisoning in Africa

30-11-2009

BirdLife has learnt that a widely available poison is being used to kill thousands of birds illegally every month in an area of Kenya, and by game poachers in Botswana to kill vultures. The poisoning of wildlife seems to have increased across Africa recently, and BirdLife International is calling for increased concerted efforts to address this threat.

Situated in western Kenya near Lake Victoria and the Ugandan border, the Bunyala Rice Scheme is a heavily irrigated area which provides ideal growing conditions for rice. This water-logging also creates suitable feeding habitat for both non-breeding migratory and resident birds, which are being targeted by local people who view the meat as a delicacy.

The poison used is called Carbofuran – or Furadan – and is designed to control insect pests in a wide variety of field crops such as potatoes, corn and soybeans. However, Carbofuran is also toxic to vertebrates, and has one of the highest acute toxicities to humans of any insecticide widely used on field crops. As little as a quarter teaspoon can be fatal, and there have been reports of a child dying recently in Kenya after ingesting the poison.

“We are very concerned by the escalating and indiscriminate use of poisons” —Pete Hancock, BirdLife Botswana’s (BirdLife Partner) Conservation Officer

BirdLife has learnt that in Bunyala the widely available poison is placed inside snail shells to present an attractive bait. Decoy birds are used, and poachers disturb the surroundings to encourage wild birds to settle into the baited areas. Once captured, target birds are killed and sold for human consumption.

Throughout Eastern and Southern Africa there are increasing reports of the use of Carbofuran to illegally poison wildlife. In Botswana, poachers have recently been observed lacing their Giraffe carcases with the poison to attract vultures and kill them. “It appears as though the poachers are deliberately aiming to eliminate every vulture in the area, since the birds are quickly alerting the authorities to the occurrence of their poaching activities”, said Pete Hancock - BirdLife Botswana’s (BirdLife Partner) Conservation Officer.

In two recent incidents, over 80 individual vultures – including White-backed Gyps africanus and Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus – have been deliberately poisoned in Botswana. “We are very concerned by the escalating and indiscriminate use of poisons for killing vultures, as this has decimated their numbers throughout Africa, and is the single greatest threat facing all vulture and raptor species here in Botswana”, added Pete.

The BirdLife Africa Partnership and many other conservation organisations across Africa - like Wildlife Direct - are already working to address the problems caused by avian poisoning, and are calling for increased concerted efforts to deal with the rapidly intensifying problem. In Kenya, Martin Odino from the National Museums of Kenya and affiliated with Wildlife Direct - with funding from the African Bird Club and Rufford Small Grants - is working with Nature Kenya (BirdLife Partner) to quantify the threat of poisoning to birds, focussing specifically on the Bunyala Rice Scheme. “We are counting poisoned birds, working to educate local people about the importance of birds, and informing them of the health risks associated with eating their poisoned meat”. 

Martin Odino - National Museums of Kenya BirdLife Partners are working to educate local people about the use of poisons. Zoom In

“We want to ensure that any chemical use in the environment in Africa does not threaten birds and biodiversity” —Jane Gaithuma, BirdLife’s Senior Programme Manager, Regional Policy & Advocacy Coordinator for Africa

BirdLife Botswana is also working to educate local people about the use of poisons. “We are embarking on an awareness raising programme to address this issue, and will also be working for legislation to restrict the availability and use of poisons which are a threat to our environment and human well-being”, said Pete Hancock.

In response to problems caused by wildlife poisoning across the continent, the BirdLife Africa Secretariat has also been focusing on chemicals and drugs as one of the threats to birds and their habitats. With funding from the Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation - through the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) - over 2,000 posters have been printed and are being distributed to raise awareness of the threat to vultures; and coordinated counts will soon be undertaken in East Africa to verify the extent of the problem and make recommendations for mitigation.

Furthermore, a survey has been undertaken on the use of chemicals in BirdLife network countries in Africa, and the BirdLife Secretariat and Partners have started lobbying relevant authorities to inform them of the extent of the problem and urge increased vigilance. “Our work has helped to identify the threats to birds caused by poisons such as Furadan”, said Jane Gaithuma – BirdLife’s Senior Programme Manager, Regional Policy & Advocacy Coordinator for Africa. “We want to ensure that any chemical use in the environment in Africa does not threaten birds and biodiversity”.

Martin Odino's work has been funded by the following grants: Rufford Small Grants (February 2009) in support of the project Measuring the conservation threat of poisoning to birds in Kenya (a case study in Bunyala Rice Scheme); African Bird Club (September 2009) in support of the project Avifaunal and Threat Status Survey in the Northern Section of Yala Swamp IBA. Martin is also affiliated with Wildlife Direct who are leading the general Stop Wildlife Poisoning Campaign.