WASHINGTON— This week marks the fifth anniversary of an Idaho teen nearly fatally poisoned by a M-44, commonly known as the “cyanide bomb”. The incident received worldwide media coverage and spurred federal and state efforts to ban these wildlife-killing devices.
The M-44 is a sodium cyanide predator control device that is baited to attract coyotes. In fact, they attract many other victims. When activated, the devices propel sodium cyanide into the mouth and face, up to 5 feet in the air. They inhumanely kill thousands of animals each year, including endangered species and family pets; they have injured a number of people and posed a serious danger to children.
During the incident in Pocatello, Idaho on March 16, 2017, 14-year-old Canyon Mansfield was walking his dog on the hill behind his home when he encountered an M-44 and activated it, thinking it was an M-44. sprinkler head. The device spewed toxic orange cyanide powder that injured Canyon and killed his dog in front of him. Since the crash, Canyon and his family have traveled across the country sharing their stories and calling for the M-44 to be banned.
Brooks Fahy, chief executive officer of Predator Defense, said: “Standing with the Mansfield family since their tragedy, as with other M-44 victims over 30 years, I have witnessed the pain of grief. and the loss that these indiscriminate devices cause.” a national wildlife advocacy group. “Since the M-44s can never be used safely, they must be banned. This is not a partisan issue. It’s a public safety issue. “
Since the Pocatello poisoning, several states have enacted restrictions on the M-44 device. In Oregon The statewide ban on M-44s goes into effect in 2020. Court victories have resulted in temporary restrictions in Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho; Arizona’s pesticide regulators have banned the use of M-44 on public lands, and none have been used on private property in the past five years.
But the Environmental Protection Agency – the federal agency responsible for regulating pesticides such as sodium cyanide used in M-44s – has denied issued a nationwide ban on these devices, although petition from many conservation groups looking for such a ban and overwhelming public outcry to use them.
The EPA currently allows Wildlife Services, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s animal extermination program, to use the M-44s and is authorized by some state agencies to use them. A total of 13 states still allow the use of the M-44: Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
An invoice is called “Law of the canyon,” Introduced by Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), seeks to ban the use of the M-44 on federal public lands. The bill has yet to be heard.
“It is outrageous that state and federal governments continue to use cyanide bombs to poison and kill animals,” said Collette Adkins, director of the predator conservation program at the Center for Biological Diversity. wild animals. “As the incident involving Canyon Mansfield and his dog shows, these devices are indiscriminate killers. They are too dangerous to be used anywhere on our public lands. “
Carson Barylak, campaign manager at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), said: “The M-44 cyanide catapults pose a danger to animals and humans, and the nationwide ban is long overdue. ages ago long ago”. “The Mansfield family has shown tremendous courage in sharing their heartbreaking experience, and by supporting Canyon’s Law, members of Congress can help prevent similar tragedies in the future. ”
Cathy Liss, president of the Animal Welfare Institute, said: “In the five years since this terrible incident, the continued use of toxic chemicals by the Wildlife Service demonstrates an unwillingness to transition. to safer, publicly accepted and scientifically sound non-lethal methods”. “It also shows ruthless indifference to the dangers posed to people and pets, such as Canyon and Kasey. We urge Congress to hold a hearing on Canyon’s Law and move this law forward quickly. ”
“Five years later, the statewide ban on the M-44 cyanide bomb is still in place, thanks to the resolution of our lawsuit,” said Erik Molvar, executive director of the Western Waterss Project. “These chemical weapons are still legal in many parts of the West, posing a deadly danger to people, pets and wildlife. The federal government should ban them nationally, and make public lands safer for the public.”
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According to what’s most recent data available from Wildlife Services, the program poisoned 7,691 animals in 2020 with an M-44 cyanide bomb. More than 200 of these animals were killed unintentionally, including a black bear, five dogs and dozens of foxes. The program’s use of the M-44 has decreased slightly since 2019, when it used the M-44 to kill 8,200 animals. But the reported death toll is significantly lower, according to whistleblowers.
In December 2021, EPA forbidden the use of the M-44 in endangered wildlife habitats unless mitigation measures are in place to avoid contact with the device. That ban came in response to a lawsuit by the Center for Biodiversity and its partners, which resulted in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. agree worked with EPA to analyze the impact on endangered wildlife from the use of M-44s.
