Environmental groups push to ban 'cyanide bombs' in Oregon
Nearly 100 private citizens and environmental groups in Oregon and beyond are pushing back against the use of cyanide capsules as a means of predator control.
In a letter sent in September to the state and federal agencies that use M-44 devices, which fire a burst of sodium cyanide poison when triggered, the groups called for a ban in Oregon. Other states in the West have already done that. The groups criticized the practice as being ineffective, undermanaged and dangerous to humans, pets and other animals.
“This is a no-brainer, and I still find it hard to believe that this is still going on,” said Brooks Fahy, executive director of the Oregon conservation nonprofit Predator Defense, one of the groups leading the effort.
M-44 devices — sometimes derogatorily called “cyanide bombs” — are small, spring-loaded devices designed to control populations of coyotes, foxes and wild dogs, according to material from Wildlife Services, a federal program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Read more: https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/6558653-151/environmental-groups-push-to-ban-cyanide-bombs-in