photo by Dereck Joubert
Dereck and Beverly Joubert recently returned from a trip to East Africa, where they have been actively involved in bringing awareness to a very important issue. It seems local herdsmen have been using an agricultural pesticide by the name of Furadan to poison lions and other wildlife that threaten their livestock. Furadan, which is sold over the counter in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, is so toxic that just a few spoonfuls on a cow carcass will kill a whole pride of lions, as well as the hyenas, jackals,and vultures that feed on them.
Furadan, which has been banned both in the USA and the EU,made headlines back in March, when 60 Minutes ran a show linking the deaths of about 75 lions in the Masai Mara to Furadan poisoning. Immediately following the show, Furadan’s American manufacturer, the FMC Corporation, released a press statement promising that it would stop selling the product in Kenya and its surrounding regions. They even instituted a buy-back program of previously sold stock.
Six months later,however, the toxic pesticide remains on the shelves. Dereck and Beverly have collected images of Furadan bottles being stocked by the hundreds if not thousands all over Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. It is obvious that if Kenya wants to preserve the vitality of its beautiful wildlife, it must call for a ban on Furadan, and all other carbofuran pesticides.
Furadan in West Tanzania by Dereck Joubert