Carbofuran and Wildlife Poisoning

Book excerpt: This cutting-edge title is one of the first devoted entirely to the issue of carbofuran and wildlife mortality. It features a compilation of international contributions from policy-makers, researchers, conservationists and forensic practitioners and provides a summary of the history and mode of action of carbofuran, and its current global use. It covers wildlife mortality stemming from legal and illegal uses to this point, outlines wildlife rehabilitation, forensic and conservation approaches, and discuss global trends in responding to the wildlife mortality. The subject of carbofuran is very timely because of recent parallel discussions to withdraw and reinstate the insecticide in different parts of the world. Incidences of intentional and unintentional wildlife poisonings using carbofuran are undeniably on the rise, especially in Africa and India and gatherings of stakeholders are being organized and convened on a global basis. There is still a need to consolidate information on the different experiences and approaches taken by stakeholders. Carbofuran and Wildlife Poisoning is a comprehensive overview of global wildlife mortality, forensic developments and monitoring techniques and is a definitive reference on the subject. It comprises of historical and current perspectives, contributions from key stakeholders in the issue of global wildlife poisonings with carbofuran, people on the ground who deal with the immediate and long-term ramifications to wildlife, those who have proposed or are working towards mitigative measures and solutions, those in contact with intentional or unintentional 'offenders', those who have adapted and developed forensic methodology and are gathering evidence. "Carbofuran and Wildlife Poisoning is a collection of meticulously researched papers from all around the world that provide shocking facts about the effects of a deadly insecticide on wildlife. The book discusses the hundreds of thousands of animals, from elephants to fish, that are poisoned each year, the efforts to rehabilitate those which have been rescued, and the often heroic efforts to ban or reduce the use of the deadly chemical. This book is a must for all those concerned with the problem." —Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE, Founder - the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace, October 2011