According to reports, little Kimutai, a three-year-old child from Kenya, died hours after ingesting carbofuran, an odorless pesticide used to control insects on many crops including rice, beans, bananas, pineapple, coffee and vegetables.
But the highly toxic pesticide, sold under the name Furadan and manufactured by Farm Machinery and Chemicals Corporation (FMC), is also used by cattle herders for different reasons. Furadan is often added to carcasses in order to poison and kill lions, hyenas and other wildlife that prey on livestock.
By Rhishja Larson •
September 5, 2009
Vultures! One of the environment’s most necessary - but often overlooked - creatures.
Today is International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD09), and I’m participating in IVAD’s blog festival - “Blog for Vultures” - with a list of 16 cool facts about these amazing birds.
By Rhishja Larson •
July 30, 2009
In order to provide safe food for critically endangered vultures, Pakistan has opened a “vulture restaurant.”
After 95% of the vulture populations in India, Nepal and Pakistan were lost due to poisoning by the drug Diclofenac, the idea of “vulture restaurants” have been catching on.
Vulture restaurants serve up the carcasses of cattle that have been monitored by a veterinarian prior to death, to confirm the animals have not been treated with Diclofenac.
Following on the success of Nepal’s vulture restaurants, Dhartee Development Society, in collaboration with the UNDP Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme has opened a vulture restaurant in Pakistan.
