A battle for survival is unfolding not in the savannahs, but in our homes and cities. The common rat poisons many Kenyans use to protect their households are increasingly understood to be devastating non-target wildlife, from majestic eagles to humble mongooses, creating a silent ecological crisis.

The core of the problem lies with a potent class of poisons known as Second-Generation Anticoagulant Rodenticides (SGARs). Unlike older poisons that required multiple doses, a single feeding of an SGAR can be lethal. The poison works by preventing blood from clotting, causing a slow, painful death from internal bleeding. This delay means poisoned rats, weakened and disoriented, often leave the home and become easy prey for predators, passing the lethal dose up the food chain.

A Global Problem with Local Consequences

This secondary poisoning is a well-documented global issue. In the United States and Europe, the public sale of these riskier poisons is banned or highly restricted. A recent government review in Australia found they pose an “unacceptable risk” to wildlife. Yet, in Kenya, products containing SGARs like Brodifacoum and Bromadiolone can be found in major supermarkets.

While specific data on secondary poisoning from rodenticides in Kenya is scarce, the threat is undeniable. The country has a long and tragic history of wildlife poisoning, primarily through the misuse of agricultural pesticides to target predators in human-wildlife conflict. Lions, hyenas, and especially vultures have been decimated by retaliatory poisonings by herders.

Conservation bodies like Nature Kenya and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) are actively running campaigns to educate communities about the dangers of poisoning, which often unintentionally kills hundreds of non-target animals, including critically endangered vultures. Four of Kenya's eight vulture species are now classified as Critically Endangered, with poisoning cited as the leading cause of their decline.

Regulation and the Unseen Threat

Kenya's Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) is the statutory body responsible for regulating the importation, sale, and use of all pesticides, including rodenticides. The PCPB states that no pesticide can be registered in Kenya unless it has been approved for use in a developed country with a reputable risk assessment regime. However, the widespread availability of SGARs, which are restricted elsewhere, raises urgent questions about whether current regulations adequately address the secondary poisoning risk to Kenya's unique fauna.

The danger isn't limited to iconic predators. A study in Cape Town, South Africa, found that rodenticides had contaminated a wide range of urban wildlife. Researchers noted the poisons compromise the animals' immune systems, making them susceptible to other diseases. This could have devastating, unseen effects on the health of wildlife populations living in and around Kenyan cities like Nairobi.

• How it Works: SGARs stop blood from clotting, leading to fatal internal bleeding.
• The Ripple Effect: Poisoned rodents are eaten by predators like owls, eagles, jackals, and even pets, who then ingest the poison.
• The Kenyan Context: While often overshadowed by pesticide misuse in human-wildlife conflict, the steady, low-level poisoning from household products poses a chronic threat to urban and peri-urban ecosystems.

As one conservationist noted, the challenge is that this form of poisoning is “unseen,” slowly accumulating in the predator population. While authorities focus on large-scale retaliatory attacks, the silent killer from our own homes may be inflicting a continuous and costly toll on the nation's natural heritage. The question remains whether Kenya will act on the global evidence before it's too late.