Feds halt cyanide traps in Idaho after one harms a child, kills a dog

[jpak]

Source: Bangor Daily News

A 14-year-old boy and his dog were walking last month on a hill near their home in Pocatello, Idaho, when they came across something in the ground that looked like a sprinkler head. But when the boy touched it, it exploded and spewed powder that sickened him and poisoned his dog to death.

The object was one of the M-44 cyanide traps that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has long used to kill predators that threaten livestock — and the damage it had done to Canyon Mansfield and his Labrador retriever, Casey, quickly fueled outrage over the devices’ use on public lands.

On Monday, the controversy led the USDA agency that places the traps, Wildlife Services, to announce a moratorium on their use in Idaho. In a letter to conservation groups, Jason Suckow, Wildlife Services’ Western regional director, said the agency had “ceased all use of” and removed the devices from all private, state and federal land in Idaho. He added that Wildlife Services would provide organizations 30 days’ notice before resuming use of the devices in the state.

The announcement came two weeks after 19 conservation groups filed a petition seeking the cyanide traps’ ban in Idaho. The petition said that the device that Mansfield found was planted on federal land within one-quarter mile of three homes, and it noted that Casey wasn’t the first dog killed by an M-44 — and not even the first this year.

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Read more: http://bangordailynews.com/2017/04/12/news/nation/feds-halt-cyanide-traps-in-idaho-after-one-harms-a-child-kills-a-dog/?ref=latest

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Where is President DeRegulation on this government action?

[Blue Idaho]

2. So the Dept. Of Agriculture is using chemical weapons?

WTF?

[Sunlei]

3. Old School this gov run 'predator control' kills thousands of wildlife. Shutdown program before cyan

Last edited Wed Apr 12, 2017, 11:38 AM - Edit history (1)

cyanide and other deadly poisons-baits, bird poisons, fall INTO the wrong crazy persons hands and cause a disaster or terrorist attack.

[hack89]

8. There are no explosives in the M44 - it uses a spring ejector. nt

[Sunlei]

10. Cyanide & other poison baits are an extreme risk to humans & none target wildlife

good that traps don't use explosives, I'll edit thank you.

[hack89]

11. I agree - there are many safer ways to reduce livestock predation. nt

[IronLionZion]

4. What the hell?

And nobody thought this was a bad idea before this happened?

[hack89]

7. They have been doing this for over 40 years.

this is an extremely rare event. That being said, I don't support their continued use. There are better, non-lethal ways to control livestock predation.

[hamsterjill]

14. They've actually been in use longer than that.

Your post just brought to mind a story about my father who was a REAL cowboy (i.e., really worked on a real working ranch). It was back in the early 60's and I was not old enough to be in school. I was with my dad checking fence line and he discovered a cyanide gun (they were called that back then) that an intersecting land owner had placed onto my dad's side of the fence.

Without saying anything, my dad got back into the truck and we drove over to the adjoining land owner's house. The guy walked out to greet my dad. Daddy punched him in the nose one time and told him he'd better remove that cyanide gun. I watched this all from the cab of the pickup.

While I don't condone violence, this was the sixties, and I remember being quite proud of my dad.

He got back in the truck and we went home.

Cyanide is no way to deal with wildlife. It's cruel and outdated.

[Paladin]

5. Right-wingers will end up referring to this as "collateral damage."

And the cyanide will be put back in place, because the right wing enjoys gassing its opponents, be they 2-legged or 4-legged.

[Crash2Parties]

6. These are chemical weapon land mines. Really, America?

[not fooled]

9. Also note

USDA as the toady and tool of corporate ag and ranchers. Wanna bet that if lil Jared and his goons start hacking away at the Federal Govt--in conjunction with goons from Heritage--that they leave these corporate/ranching welfare programs alone? Big govt is OK in service to corporations.

[paleotn]

12. And someone thought these things were a good idea.....

...and that they would never figuratively blow up in their faces? Maybe the same type of folks who thought dragging a seated passenger off a commercial aircraft and beating the shit out of him in the process was perfectly OK and within company policy. Are we now living in Dumbfuckistan or what?

[Vinca]

13. What rocket scientist decided this was a good idea????

Now a person can't even take their dog for a walk without the risk of stepping on a cyanide mine????

[TomVilmer]

15. Designed to eject cyanide into victims mouths to cause a painful death...

http://aldf.org/blog/ending-the-chemical-war-against-wildlife/