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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.
(Score: 2) by bradley13 on Monday April 17 2017, @07:20AM
WTF #1: What is an agency of the US government doing, setting traps to protect privately owned livestock? That is the ranchers' job.
WTF #2: What idiot would set unattended traps that spray cyanide on public land? Of course some curious kid is going to poke one with a stick.
Ok, with the WTFs out of the way, let's look at the core issue: If you have livestock grazing unattended, what protective measures are appropriate? Lots of grazing in the US is on federally owned lands, so we have to draw that distinction as well. I submit:
- On public land, two options only: (1) leave the herd to fend for itself. Grazing animals can defend themselves; they've been doing it for millions of years. Or (2) don't leave the herd unattended. If you can't leave a person with the herd, leave a few herd dogs to help them.
- On private land, as long as you aren't targeting endangered species, trapping and hunting predators can be allowed. The property had better be well-fenced and marked with appropriate warning signs, and any accidents are the property-owners responsibility.
Too many ranchers in the US have gotten spoiled. They think they should be allowed to graze their herds on federal land. They think they can leave their herds unattended for months on end, without suffering any significant losses. Both of these are nonsense, but somehow the idealized vision of the western cattle rancher makes them difficult to change.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.