Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
is a food source, and many fl ocks are fooled. Birds in the best body condition, with minimal injury,
are selected from a poacher's catch as decoys. Poachers then carry the decoy birds home as part of
their 'hunting gear' and back to the killing grounds during the next poisoning exercise.
The percentage mortality rate of each of the poisoned resident and intra-African migrant birds
was calculated and plotted (Figure 3.10).
Abdim's stork had the highest mortality followed by
fan-tailed widowbird (
Euplectes axillaris
), parasitic weaver (
Anomalospiza imberbis
), grassland
pipit (
Anthus cinamomeus
), cattle egret (
Bubulcus ibis
), African openbill, little egret (
Egretta
garzetta
), Marabou stork (
Leptoptilos crumeniferus
), greater painted snipe (
Rostratula ben-
ghalensis
), red-billed quelea (
Quelea quelea
), Hadada ibis (
Bostrichia hagedash
), glossy ibis
(
Plegadis fulcinellus
) and village weaver (
Ploceus cucullatus
). Eight of 11 fan-tailed widowbirds
were poisoned, giving them the second highest rate of mortality. The African openbill had the
highest mortality rate.
Results of questionnaires and interviews
Thirteen questionnaires were administered to poachers and 207 (62 at the start of the study and
pre-education stage; 180 at about the end of the study) to consumers.
Poachers' responses
Five poachers were interviewed at both the pre- and post-education stage of the study, and
an additional four were interviewed at the end of the study (one of the poachers initially inter-
viewed, who was between 60 and 70, quit poaching to become a herder, purportedly due to old
age). Poachers hunted birds in teams and so the additional four poachers might simply have given
the same information as that obtained from the four already questioned during the pre-education
stage. Nonetheless they were interviewed to evaluate any ideological differences that might exist
amongst the teams.
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Figure 3.10
Percentage mortality of resident/intra-African migrant birds
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