The Environmental Protection Agency has reauthorized the use of “cyanide bombs” to control pest populations and protect livestock.
M-44 devices, commonly called cyanide bombs, are used mostly by farmers and ranchers to kill coyotes, feral dogs, and foxes that are threatening livestock. Environmental groups have recently mounted a campaign to ban the tool after a 2018 accident in which a M-44 killed a family’s dog and blinded a teen.
“Cyanide traps can’t be used safely by anyone, anywhere,” said Collette Adkins, carnivore conservation director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “While the EPA added some restrictions, these deadly devices have caused too much harm to remain in use. We need a permanent nationwide ban to protect people, pets and imperiled wildlife from this poison.”
M-44s are used in 15 states. The EPA reauthorized the devices but increased regulations on how they are handled, such as doubling the distance they can be to a public path from 50 feet to 100 feet. The EPA also now mandates that warning signs be placed within 15 feet of each device instead of within 25 feet.
Only trained personnel are allowed to handle M-44s and each device, once planted, must be monitored on a weekly basis by an expert. The device works by spraying sodium cyanide powder into the mouth of a canine after the animal bites and pulls the device’s cap, which is covered in bait.
“The sodium cyanide quickly reacts with moisture in the animal’s mouth, releasing hydrogen cyanide gas,” a fact sheet by the Department of Agriculture says. “Death is very quick, normally within 1 to 5 minutes after the device is triggered.”
