The Pesticide Furadan in Africa
by Michael
(London, UK)
Poisoned lion Masa Mara - from the Wildlife Direct website - link provided, see post.
I just read about the pesticide Furadan in Africa on a website that I like Ofcats.com. Well, when I read about this pesticide and how it is killing lions I just winced. The lion needs this like a hole in the head. And I am indebted too to WildlifeDirect.org another concerned website. Furadan is a toxic chemical pesticide made by The American chemical manufacturer, FMC. It is intended to protect crops from insects. Fine but it has been used by villagers in parts of Africa to poison wild animals. I presume that this is farmers protecting their livestock from hyenas and the wildcats including the precious lion. For a farmer killing the lion is a question of survival, I guess. I can understand that but the lion belongs to the world and the world needs to help the people in Africa to live in harmony with the lion and the other wildcats; I am thinking too of the cheetah, another cat killed by Namibian farmers.
According to Ofcats.com the effect has been devastating on the lion population. And this hurts us all. The author of Ofcats.org says "scores" have died. This is tragic. Well, there are some videos on this that explain what is going on better than me. The good news (perhaps late in the day) is that this horrible product has been withdrawn from Africa; importation has been stopped (it seems - can we believe anything anymore?). But it took too long for this to happen. It took push and shove from the websites and media etc. to make this happen - cynical business again. Are the existing stocks being removed? Yes, it seems that the existing sock is being bought back by the suppliers.
The first video is of a spokesperson from FMC explaining the actions of FMC:
The next is the horrendous sight of a poisoned lion:
The worst of this is how it happened in the first place. Perhaps it is with the benefit of hindsight but this product should never have been shipped to Africa knowing the sort of problems that exist in relation to farmers not living in harmony with the predators. The Pesticide Furadan in Africa was a big mistake. I honestly think that this story confirms my rather weary and perhaps cynical views about the world's approach to living with the wildcats. We just don't care enough. Tiger are being poisoned too! See link below.
See more on the lion and tiger:
From The Pesticide Furadan in Africa to Wild cat species
