SoylentNews

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

The US announced slightly stricter rules Thursday on the use of devices called "cyanide bombs," which are meant to protect livestock from wild predators, after the government reinstated their use in August.

The devices, known as M-44s, are implanted in the ground, resembling lawn sprinklers. They use a spring-loaded ejector to release sodium cyanide when an animal tugs on a baited capsule holder.

They are meant to target foxes, coyotes and feral dogs but can ensnare other animals too, such as raccoons and skunks.

The government halted the use of the devices last year after one of them was responsible for injuring a boy and killing his dog in Idaho.

[...]The new rules announced Thursday require a 600-foot (180-meter) buffer around residences where no M-44s can be placed, and call for the equipment to be installed at least 300 feet away from roads and paths—an increase from the previous 100-foot rule.

And each M-44 must now be accompanied by two signs within 25 feet, warning of their placement.

[...]"This appalling decision leaves cyanide traps lurking in the wild to threaten people, pets and imperiled animals," Collette Adkins, carnivore conservation director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement in response to the EPA's decision.

According to government data, M-44s killed 6,579 animals in 2018—including more than 200 "nontarget" animals, such as opossums, raccoons, skunks and a bear.

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