A little-known USDA agency called Wildlife Services is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of animals every year. They even leave cyanide devices unattended in their pursuit of wildlife.
USDA’s Wildlife Services uses chemical poisons known as M-44 sodium “cyanide bombs” to kill foxes, coyotes, and other wildlife–on our public lands. In addition to the animals that they are seeking to kill, family pets and endangered species are put at risk by these indiscriminate practices and devices. Congress needs to stop them.
This legislation would outlaw the use of M-44 sodium “cyanide bombs” on our country’s public lands. These indiscriminate devices spray sodium cyanide into the mouths of any animals that trigger them.
In 2017, Canyon Mansfield (14 years old at the time) was near his family’s home in Idaho with his dog, Kasey when he accidentally triggered an M-44 “cyanide bomb” left by USDA Wildlife Services. He was sprayed with cyanide and suffered serious injuries requiring hospitalization. His dog, Kasey, suffered an excruciating death.
There is no justification for our government’s continued use of these devices–especially on our shared public lands that are used by millions of people for recreation–when safer and more effective and cost-efficient solutions are readily available.