December 4, 2023
Media Contacts: info@projectcoyote.org, 415.945.3232
Bureau of Land Management Bans Use of Cyanide Bombs
WASHINGTON D.C. — Project Coyote welcomed a decision announced on November 22nd by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that will stop the use of M-44 devices – also known as cyanide bombs – on 245 million acres of BLM managed lands.
“For decades, Wildlife Services has irresponsibly and horrifically used cyanide bombs to kill wildlife, causing immense suffering as well as the loss of countless endangered species and domestic animals, including beloved pets,” said Renee Seacor, carnivore conservation manager for Project Coyote. “The BLM’s announcement is a crucial step toward safeguarding our public lands from these dangerous devices. We commend this decision and now are focused on ensuring an end to their use on all public lands.”
M-44s are lethal control devices used to kill carnivores— primarily coyotes. These devices, filled with deadly sodium cyanide spray, are spring-loaded and, once triggered, blast clouds of poisonous gas five feet into the air. The poisonous gas attacks the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and central nervous systems and results in death in a matter of minutes. These devices are indiscriminate, attracting countless non-target species, including endangered species and family pets. M-44s have also injured several people, including children.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Service program data, M-44s were used by the program 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 “non-target” animals during the same period, including endangered species, domestic livestock, and beloved pets.
The recent announcement by the BLM prohibits the use of M-44 devices on 245 million acres of BLM managed lands. M-44 devices are already banned on other Department of Interior lands, including lands managed by the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Reclamation. However, M-44 use is allowed to continue on the 193 million acres of land managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
In October 2022, U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Peter DeFazio (D-OR) sent a letter to U.S. Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland signed by nine additional members of Congress calling on the Department to use their authority to ban M-44 devices on all public lands. Representative Huffman also oversaw the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife hearing on this topic in the 117th Congress.
In June, 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)—named after a 14-year-old boy who tragically lost his dog and was injured due to an M-44 device. The bill has a growing list of co-sponsors with sixteen in the House and six in the Senate. The legislation would completely ban the use of M-44 devices on all federal and state public lands. The bill has been referred to the relevant House and Senate committees with no hearing date scheduled.
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