When Canyon Mansfield went for a walk near his house with his faithful companion, Kasey, he had no inkling that would be their last outing together and that the 14-year-old would witness the gruesome death of his pet dog. Mansfield and Kasey came across what’s known as an M-44 device — an exploding cylindrical canister that releases a blast of deadly sodium cyanide into whatever victim is unlucky enough to come into contact with it. Who would put such a thing near a person’s home? The answer is as appalling as it is shocking: the federal government, and it’s doing it at taxpayer expense.
Wildlife Services is a program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture that in certain circles is known as the “killing agency.” It’s the federal government’s exterminator, killing some 3 to 5 million animals each year using some of the most inhumane methods imaginable. We’re talking about chemical poisons, cruel body-gripping traps that mangle animals (target and nontarget alike), aerial gunning operations that have gone awry and led to pilot deaths, and even using vehicles to run over and hit animals in a crude attempt to knock off unwanted “pests.”
All of these methods are dangerous and suspect, but there’s something particularly shocking about our government stockpiling and deploying some of the deadliest poisons in the world in a scorched-earth attempt to deal with wildlife. This is less about wildlife management (which would presumably involve at least a first attempt to effectively manage any problematic wildlife through nonlethal means) than a “kill first, ask questions later” philosophy that rids our ecosystems of native carnivores and countless other animals that add to the rich biological diversity of America’s outdoor spaces.
Simply put, why would the government need to use something such as Compound 1080 — one teaspoon of which can kill 100 people — to mitigate wildlife damage? Can an agency supposedly committed to the “coexistence of people and wildlife” really not do better with all the funds and expertise at its disposal?
In 2005, a CIA report on weapons of mass destruction revealed that Compound 1080 was found in Saddam Hussein’s chemical stockpile. In other words, our federal government thinks that the tool of a mass murderer is apparently suitable to set on public lands. And they’re doing it using taxpayer dollars.
Former President Richard Nixon signed an executive order in 1972 that prohibited the use of poisons like Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide on public lands, and with good reason. That executive action was unfortunately reversed, but the Nixon administration had the right idea; these deadly poisons have no place in and around the wild open spaces and trails we use for hiking and recreation. No one should ever have to fear losing their beloved dog because they stumbled upon a horrific killing device that was secretly placed there by government agents. It’s horrible that Mansfield had to watch his dog die. We need to make sure this never happens again — and that children and pets are safe.
That’s why Predator Defense is working with Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., on bipartisan legislation to restrict the use of these specific chemicals by Wildlife Services. The Chemical Poisons Reduction Act is a common sense lifesaving measure that provides accountability to make sure our taxpayer dollars aren’t going towards shockingly reckless wildlife “control” methods that can kill a human as easily as a coyote. Legislators are shedding light on the long history of secrecy and lack of accountability within this government agency.
Indeed, an Inspector General report specifically raised concerns about Wildlife Services’ ability to keep track of these chemical stockpiles. The unfortunate reality is that if an odorless and colorless poison such as Compound 1080 fell into the wrong hands, it could easily be used to poison a public water supply. Several states have already severely restricted the use of these poisons for wildlife management purposes. It’s time for the federal government to follow suit and put taxpayer dollars to better, safer, and far more effective use.
Joanna Grossman, Ph.D., serves on the advisory board of Predator Defense, a nonprofit that protects native carnivores and sheds light on government-sponsored lethal control programs.
