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posted by on Sunday April 16 2017, @05:46PM   Printer-friendly
from the now-with-nerve-gas! dept.

The USDA will stop using sodium cyanide "bombs" in Idaho (at least temporarily) following an incident that put a 14-year-old in the hospital and killed his dog:

About a month after an anti-predator device spit sodium cyanide in the face of an unsuspecting boy and killed his dog, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced it is ending its use of the M-44 mechanisms in Idaho indefinitely.

"We take seriously the incident in Idaho," Jason Suckow, western regional director of the USDA's Wildlife Services agency, told conservation groups in a letter Monday. "We immediately responded by removing all M-44s from the area, initiating an inquiry into the incident, and launching a review of current [Wildlife Services] operating procedures."

Suckow noted the agency has "removed all M-44s currently deployed on all land ownerships in Idaho" and has refrained from planting new ones.


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Snotnose on Sunday April 16 2017, @05:55PM (12 children)

    by Snotnose (1623) on Sunday April 16 2017, @05:55PM (#494880)

    thought it was a good idea to plant mines in the forest? These things are indiscriminate killers, human and animal alike. Somebody needs some jail time for this stupendously stupid decision.

    --
    Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.
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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by sjames on Sunday April 16 2017, @06:33PM (4 children)

    by sjames (2882) on Sunday April 16 2017, @06:33PM (#494889) Journal

    Sadly, they have yet to understand that their actions were criminally negligent. They didn't remove the devices in any other state and they haven't promised not to use them again. Had anyone but the U.S. government placed the mine, that person would be awaiting trial right now. I have yet to hear of anyone with the agency offering to cover any medical bills, much less offering reasonable compensation (to the extent that you can compensate a 14 year old boy for watching his family pet die in terror).

    Short of somebody being put in the back of a police car, I'm not sure what will give them the needed message.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @08:03PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @08:03PM (#494915)

      Apparently in the past they have just denied setting the mines if someone complains:
      http://www.predatordefense.org/docs/m44_press_EPA_investigation_1-17-08.pdf [predatordefense.org]

    • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @08:13PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @08:13PM (#494921)

      Wow in this one the investigation apparently intimidated the family. Also there was no livestock in the area to be protected anyway:
      http://www.predatordefense.org/docs/m44_article_Buddy_Tippetts.pdf [predatordefense.org]

      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 17 2017, @04:38AM (1 child)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday April 17 2017, @04:38AM (#495107) Journal

        Well, you're mistaken on a technicality. The dog is "livestock". So, they were "protecting" the dog.

        Let me add that coyotes love killing dogs. I've not seen it myself, but I'm told that a pack of coyotes will take a position at the reverse military crest of a hill, then one member will run over the hill to taunt a lone dog. The dog comes out to chase the lone coyote, which then runs back over the hill. One-on-one, a typical German Shepard will tear a coyote apart. With six to one (or more) odds in their favor, the coyotes always win.

        Which goes to show that coyotes are pretty damned smart. The booby traps won't remain effective against them for long - if they are effective now.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 17 2017, @06:54PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 17 2017, @06:54PM (#495423)

          killing coyotes at all is ineffective. they take role at night and the alpha females have more pups if you killed one/some.

  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @07:00PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @07:00PM (#494898)

    They've been in use since 1967.

    The previous generation had a .38 special cartridge to eject the capsule with more force, but that was replaced with a spring after too many people were injured or killed.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M44_(cyanide_device) [wikipedia.org]

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @08:58PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @08:58PM (#494940)

    Not really 'indiscriminate killers' with respect to animals; they're anchored in the ground and triggered by pulling, so most animals won't set them off (only those that habitually gnaw bones). And they're supposed to have warning signs posted so people don't go "Huh, what's this sticking out of the ground?" and pull on them -- it appears those signs weren't present in this case.

    With appropriate precautions, I don't see these as being that dangerous; it looks like USDA was being sloppy with them, really. And this sort of thing -- mines, spring-guns, booby traps, etc. -- just aren't something you can afford to get sloppy with. So I agree someone probably deserves jail, but for the criminal negligence of either not posting warnings, or not checking frequently to be sure the warnings were still present and still legible.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @09:27PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @09:27PM (#494953)

      Not really 'indiscriminate killers' with respect to animals; they're anchored in the ground and triggered by pulling, so most animals won't set them off (only those that habitually gnaw bones).

      In this video a guy claims the bombs are killing cows, just from licking them. Further, he says that they report the cows as killed by coyotes rather than the cyanide, which leads to further perceived need for the bombs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSV8pRLkdKI&feature=youtu.be [youtube.com]

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @09:52PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @09:52PM (#494962)

        So let me get this straight, people NOT in their right minds are deploying these things. (Ultimate appeal to internets authority: a guy in a video on youtube says it, so it must be true!)

        • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @10:04PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 16 2017, @10:04PM (#494973)

          Well, the "guy in a video on youtube" was presented as a former employee that got fired because he wouldn't take part in such practices. It seemed legit to me, but I guess I don't know for sure. There is another story in the video about Wildlife Services capturing domestic dogs and feeding them these bombs on purpose.

    • (Score: 2) by sjames on Sunday April 16 2017, @10:03PM

      by sjames (2882) on Sunday April 16 2017, @10:03PM (#494972) Journal

      In this case, even more negligent than that for placing them near homes with children and pets and no livestock. They're damned lucky it was a 14 year old who thought to clean the stuff off with snow rather than a small child who couldn't have read the warnings even if there were any.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 18 2017, @05:55PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 18 2017, @05:55PM (#495931)

    I didn't even know these things existed in the public lands.
    And why don't they "AT LEAST" put a sign nearby, I mean jeesh?