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