Richard Leakey

FMC Corporation’s withdrawal of Furadan from Kenya and their commitment to buy back the entire remaining product is a welcome gesture of commitment from the Philadelphia-based pesticide manufacture, WildlifeDirect has said. WildlifeDirect’s Chairman, Dr Richard Leakey, who has been calling for a ban on this lethal chemical following lion poisonings in the Masai Mara Reserve over a year ago, says it is encouraging that FMC has finally taken action to prevent further poisoning of wildlife using this highly potent pesticide.

FMC announced the withdrawal and the commencement of the buy-back programme following the airing of a documentary on CBS’s 60 Minutes show on Sunday 29 March 2009 in which was reported that the death of some 75 lions had been linked to Furadan poisoning in the Masai Mara.

Although lion poisoning may have prompted FMC’s rapid response, the misuse of Furadan threatens a variety of other species including large predators which are particularly susceptible such as, hyenas, jackals, leopards and others that are considered pests, as well as numerous birds and fish species that are killed with Furadan for human consumption. This practice poses a serious human health threat since the pesticide’s active ingredients, carbofurans, are dangerous to humans.  Ingestion of tiny amounts of these compounds can cause paralysis and even death.

Dr Richard Leakey, world renowned for having led the efforts that brought down the massive poaching of elephants in the mid-1980s, has been at the centre of the campaign for the withdrawal of Furadan in Kenya. In response to the announcement from FMC he said,

“I am delighted at the swift response from FMC which is a promising sign of corporate responsibility. WildlifeDirect is looking forward to working with FMC as well as other stakeholders to ensure that this deadly chemical no longer poses a threat to wildlife in Africa”.

Dr Leakey refers to the action by FMC to withdraw this poison of choice for herders, fishermen and bird hunters, as a victory feather to be added to WildlifeDirect’s cap.

Several Kenyan scientists working closely with WildlifeDirect have been studying the use of carbofuran in the various wildlife poisoning applications. Dino Martins, a PhD scholar at Harvard University has written a report on the use of carbofuran for fishing in Lake Victoria. The tragedy is double, poisoned fish are sold for human consumption and given away to HIV-AIDS orphans.  Martin Odino, based at Nature Kenya, has been conducting a long term investigation on the use of Furadan to poison wild birds in Bunyala rice growing region since February 2009. Odino has documented alarming numbers of poisoned birds of several species in this area that he calls ‘a Furadan hotspot’. He predicts that Furadan use could have devastating effects on Kenya’s wetland birds’ diversity in the near future.

As a follow-up to their announcement, FMC representatives will be visiting Kenya to, amongst other things, ensure that the Furadan Buy-Back Program is working effectively. The buy-back program will be implemented in Kenya by the local distributor, Juanco SPS.

WildlifeDirect welcomes the invitation to work with FMC with whom they will be meeting during their visit to Kenya in the coming days.

Sadly my beloved country Kenya has been in the news a great deal in the past few weeks, and the news has not been good. We have problems and these were triggered by the outcome of the Presidential election where the result was close, and where there is plenty of evidence for rigging. The dispute led to violence which has deteriorated into inter-ethnic fighting in certain parts of the country. Tragic scenes and news fill the media and a sense of doom, gloom and fear is palpable. The violence is not directed against foreigners or tourists in any way and much of Kenya is untouched by it. The main airports are functioning normally and the National Parks, the Game Reserves and the wildlife sanctuaries are perfectly safe from this fighting.

The sense of normality in the wildlife areas is unfortunately deluding. Foreign tourists and the tourism industry has all but collapsed. Many, many people are losing their jobs and critical funding for the protection of the wildlife areas has essentially dried up. Revenue from tourism has been providing the bulk of the funding for conservation, and without these funds, patrols and essential activities will cease. In these circumstances we can expect a real upsurge in poaching; for bush meat and commercially valuable species such as rhino and elephant.

I am obviously deeply concerned and feel that we must find a short-term solution to maintain these wildlife areas until normality returns to Kenya and tourism picks up again.

One of the most critical wildlife areas is the Trans Mara, a part of the Greater Maasai Mara and northern Serengeti ecosystem. This area has been run by private management (the Mara Conservancy) for the local authority, the Trans Mara County Council. The management arrangement has been a remarkable success but it is entirely dependent upon tourism which has now stopped. The small buffer of US $50,000 that the Mara Conservancy saved from last year’s visitors has been used up through January. We now need to act quickly to ensue that we can raise another US $50,000 for February and so on until this crisis is over. The wildlife in the Trans Mara is spectacular; the area is one of the jewels in the list of Kenya’s great natural attractions: it has to be saved.

Hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of visitors have enjoyed their visits to the Mara and everyone wants it to remain for the benefit of future generations. Apparently, for as little as US $150,000, the management of the Trans Mara can be sustained; poaching checked and essential services (fire breaks etc.) can be operated. As this area is the gateway to the Greater Maasai Mara/Serengeti ecosystem, this will have real and significant impact for conservation. WildlifeDirect believes this help must be found. This can be achieved by 1,500 people donating one hundred dollars, or 15,000 giving ten dollars. For those hundreds of thousands who have been privileged to see the Mara, surely a modest gift now can secure the spectacle for your next visit or for your children, grandchildren or friends. If you have been to the Mara or know people who have, pass this on and through your network of friends and colleagues, we can quickly reach this target. Each of us can make the difference in a very real and timely way.