WildEarth Guardians

Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Cyanide Bomb Incidents Highlight Need to Ban Cruel Devices

M-44s and Compound 1080, Once Banned by President Nixon, Must Be Prohibited
Contact: John Horning, 505-795-5083, jhorning@wildearthguardians.org

Denver, CO – Last Thursday a young boy was harmed and his family dog killed by a cyanide bomb placed on public land by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s wildlife killing program, ironically named Wildlife Services. Five days prior to that two families recreating on public lands in Wyoming watched two of the four dogs with them die after the animals detonated cyanide devices. Two weeks prior to those incidents a wolf was killed in Oregon by another “M44” device. In response, WildEarth Guardians’ Executive Director John Horning issued the following statement:

“I am outraged and saddened by the reckless actions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services. This taxpayer-funded program is waging an endless war on wildlife on our public lands and the list of non-target casualties continues to escalate. The agency admitted that it accidentally killed 39 dogs in 2016, as well as thousands of other non-target wildlife.

I hope that it does not take the death of a child before this agency, Congress or our President acts to ban these cruel devices and make our public lands safe for all. We must likewise advance a science-based vision of compassionate coexistence with native wildlife. 

These three recent incidents are exactly why extremely dangerous M-44 cyanide bombs, along with other indiscriminate killing tools like traps and poisons, should not be placed on our public lands. It would be a mistake to call this tragedy an accident. It’s not an accident if federal employees are knowingly placing deadly devices where children and companion animals play; that’s extreme and inexcusable negligence.

Thus, today WildEarth Guardians is renewing our call to end the use of traps, poisons, snares and other indiscriminate, barbaric devices. Wildlife Services must get out of the business of killing native carnivores and instead pursue a new mission of non-lethal coexistence with native wildlife while also addressing the proliferation of non-native species that are a threat to native wildlife and healthy ecosystems.

President Richard Nixon, in 1972, banned the use of M-44’s and another poison used to kill native wildlife called Compound 1080. That ban was lifted by President Reagan and the program has become even more secretive in its operations in the last two decades while continuing to kill nearly 100,000 native carnivores each year.

We will be intensifying our End The War on Wildlife campaign to mobilize more popular support to secure Congressional action to end the barbaric, indiscriminate killing. The American people firmly support an end to the cruelty and have a desire to coexist with the majestic native wildlife with whom we share habitat.”