The Kenyan Parliament is considering a ban on the highly toxic pesticide, Furadan, used by herdsmen to poison lions and other carnivores. The pesticide, originally manufactured by the U.S.-based FMC
Corporation, is cheap and widely available in Kenya and is the favored poison of herdsmen hoping to kill predators threatening livestock. The conservation group, Wildlife Direct, says that at least 60 of Kenya’s 2,100 lions have died from Furadan poisoning in the past two years, and that the death toll may actually be much higher. A large number of other animals have died from eating bait laced with Furadan, a pesticide so lethal that a quarter-teaspoon can kill a human. Wildlife Direct and other groups have been trying to buy back Furadan from herders, but the program has had only limited success. As a result, a Kenyan member of parliament has introduced a bill to ban the substance, which is now being produced by companies in China, India, and Pakistan. Furadan has been banned in the U.S. and Europe.
Wildlife Direct