Kenya rolls out poison in bid to cull a million crows

#Africa
Kenya rolls out poison in bid to cull a million crows

Loveworld / 3 weeks

August 1, 2024

1 min read

The term “invasive alien birds” might sound like a plotline for a Hollywood thriller, but in coastal Kenya, it’s a pressing reality. Authorities are tackling a significant ecological problem caused by Indian house crows, with plans to cull a million of these disruptive birds.
Unlike the human-targeting crows in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic horror film The Birds, these crows have long been a menace in Kenya, disrupting local wildlife, raiding tourist spots, and attacking poultry farms.
The culling strategy involves using poison in the towns of Watamu and Malindi as part of an extensive effort to curb the crows’ spread towards the capital, Nairobi. This ambitious operation marks the initial phase of a broader campaign to address the issue.
These crows, referred to locally as “kunguru” or “kurabu,” are native to India and other parts of Asia. They were likely introduced to East Africa in the 1890s, initially to manage waste on the Zanzibar archipelago, then a British protectorate. From there, they spread to the mainland and up the coast to Kenya.
The poisoning campaign aims to mitigate the ecological and economic impacts of these invasive birds and prevent further encroachment into key areas.