The Furadan Fiasco

There has been much going on in Kenya about Furadan - that lion-killing pesticide for which the US EPA has revoked all tolerances in food, the EU banned two years ago, Canada is considering to ban and Kenyans are agitating for a total ban.

Lion paralysed by Furadan in the Masai Mara

Despite the withdrawal of this most lethal of pesticides by the Philadelphia-based manufacturer Farm Machinery and Chemicals Corporation (FMC) from the Kenyan market, unscrupulous traders are still hoarding stocks and are selling them to farmers/herders for poisoning wildlife.

It is not surprising that Furadan is still available in the shelves (or under the counter) since Kenyan traders are known to be hungry for profits regardless of the consequences of their profiteering. It is thus clearly logical that environmentalists should be calling for a total ban. Perhaps when trading in this lethal poison becomes illegal, it will not be worth the risk of high fines, trading license revocation and lengthy jail terms – assuming that the punishment for such trading is made that severe.

The call for a total ban on Furadan is gaining momentum. The issue was discussed in parliament – following a question raised by Naivasha Member of Parliament, Hon. John Mututho -  on Tuesday, 2 June 2009. The Minister for Forestry and Wildlife, Hon. Noah Wekesa, to whom Mututho addressed the question, said that he’s tasked a committee to draft a legal notice that will lead to the final ban.

Now that is good news and travel writer, Rupi Mangat, reported this message of hope in this weeks East African. In the same spread in the same weekly newspaper, a correspondent Philip Ngunjiri wrote about the under-the-counter dealings by the traders who’ve rendered the FMC instituted buy-back of remnant Furadan stocks ineffective.

I believe that a ban is forthcoming, just how fast it comes is the question. Hopefully, the Kenya government will act fast enough so that we can save the remaining 2100 lions, many hyenas, vultures, and other wildlife that are being poisoned by Furadan.

Pray with me.