Petition Urges Forest Service to Ban ‘Cyanide Bombs’
Project Coyote Joins More Than 60 Conservation Groups to Oppose Deadly M-44s
Project Coyote joined over 60 conservation groups, led by the Center for Biological Diversity and Predator Defense, in petitioning the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to ban M-44 “cyanide bombs” on all USFS managed lands. These devices, which kill indiscriminately, have injured people and killed thousands of animals annually, including endangered species and pets. According to Wildlife Services data, M-44s were used to intentionally kill more than 88,000 animals from 2014 through 2022, averaging around 30 poisonings per day for a significant portion of the past decade. Tragically, these devices also caused the unintended demise of 2,200 animals during the same period, including endangered species, domestic livestock, and beloved pets.
Late last year, Project Coyote welcomed a decision by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that prohibited the use of M-44 devices on 245 million acres of BLM managed lands. Unfortunately, the USFS still permits their use. This new petition argues that M-44 devices pose severe risks to public safety and animal welfare, as demonstrated by incidents like the 2017 injury of a young boy and the death of his dog in Idaho. Conservation advocates point out that, despite the known dangers and the bans by other federal agencies, the USFS has continued to allow the use of M-44s on lands under their management. A formal ban would prevent M-44s from ever being used on these lands again without public review, aligning the USFS with other agencies like the BLM who have committed to safer, non-lethal wildlife management practices.
This rulemaking petition supports ongoing efforts to pass federal legislation banning M-44s. U.S. Representatives Huffman (D-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) reintroduced “Canyon’s Law” (H.R. 4068/S. 1940) this session. The legislation would completely ban the use of M-44 devices on all federal and state public lands.