NAIROBI, Sept 1 – In a bid to address the problem of of the use of poisons to kill wildlife in Africa, the Peregrine Fund and its partners have created a database that contains information on all historical and current incidents of wildlife poisoning in the continent.
Peregrine Fund’s East Africa Project said in a press release on September 1 that wildlife poisoning has rapidly accelerated over the past decade, and is having a devastating effect on the populations of many species.
The Fund, which has been collecting data on wildlife poisoning since 2005 and has now joined forces with Endangered Wildlife Trust(EWT) based in South Africa to assess the scope and impact of this critical threat to vultures and other wildlife species across Africa.
“In partnership with the Vulture Specialist Group of the IUCNSpecies Survival Commission, we have collated all historical and current incidents of wildlife poisoning into the African Wildlife Poisoning Database or AWPD, which will be launched on 2 September 2017 to mark International Vulture Awareness Day.”
The database so far contains records of 272 poisoning incidents that have killed over 8,000 animals of 40 different species, from 15 countries. Although records of poisoning date back to 1961, in the past decade there has been a sharp escalation in poisoning incidents, with most of the deaths occurring during that time.
Poisons have been used to target specific species such as elephants that provide high-value by-products for trade, or lions and monkeys that cause damage to domestic livestock or crops. The Fund also voiced concern over the use of poisons to harvest wildlife to provide a food source such as game birds, fish and storks.
“Due to the indiscriminate nature of poisons, most of which are highly toxic pesticides, there are almost always unintentional consequences that affect a broad range of terrestrial and aquatic species and this includes human beings. Vultures are being the most severely afflicted, as they are typically the first to arrive at a poisoned carcass, and they feed in large numbers,” the Fund said in its statement.
Apart from vultures, species affected range from large carnivores, such as lions, leopards, and hyenas, to elephants, impalas, cranes, and storks.
Poisoning is the most significant threat to vultures in Africa and Eurasia and, over the last 30 years, has contributed to declines in excess of 80 per cent in some African species, according to Peregrine Fund.
On the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species currently, there are four species of African vulture identified as Critically Endangered and three species as Endangered.
“Wildlife poisoning in Africa has reached epic proportions and one would be hard pressed to find a group of species that is not affected,” said Darcy Ogada, Assistant Director of Africa Programs for The Peregrine Fund. “The AWPD is an essential tool for documenting this silent crime that kills not only wildlife, but domestic animals including cows, sheep and dogs, as well as contaminating the environment, particularly water sources.”
Registered members of the public, conservationists, and wildlife veterinarians, across Africa, can input information into the database through a mobile app. To allow greater access to this information, the EWT and The Peregrine Fund have collaborated with the Gadfly Project, to develop an online version of the AWPD. The Gadfly Project is a social enterprise software developer located in Maryland, USA. Its core mission is the development of web applications and websites for socially, economically, and environmentally conscious organisations.
