Cyanide Bombs
General Topic
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/03/21/usda-must-rethink-cyanide-bombs-that-injured-boy-killed-pets-lawmaker-says.html
This is crazy. I've never heard of anything like it!
They're very common around here. We had two of our livestock guardian dogs escape during a flood two years ago. We found one dead and never found the other. I later learned that the USDA had cyanide bombs on our neighbors property, unbeknownst to us. I don't understand how something that kills so quickly and indiscriminately can be legal. Now they want to add poisoned bait to their arsenal to kill feral hogs. Don't any of our lawmakers read anything before they pass it???
I read a books recently called American Serengheti and Coyote America by Dan Flores. They document the extirpation of wolves, grizzly bears, etc and the war on predators in the US with a 70 or more year long poisoning program.
Many different types of poisons have been employed, including cyanide bombs. There is still a USDA group that is doing research on coyotes and still carried out programs in some areas using poisons.
The reason that states East of the Mississippi River now have coyotes is due to this war and the adaptability of coyotes. I recommend both books!
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That story from Foxnews was horribly written. Not much more than sensationalism with a true lack of facts. In the story 14 year old "Canyon was knocked to the ground after a cyanide bomb set by the U.S. government detonated". This was completely false. The M44 device (intended for coyotes) is spring loaded. There was no bomb. There was no detonation. The 14 year old boy could not possibly have been knocked down.
It looks like the 14 year old boy and his dog wandered onto a rancher's property and his dog unfortunately found the coyote trap. It seems that they were trespassing. Trespassing is, and should always be, hazardous.
Here is the inaccurate story with lots of sensationalism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M44_(cyanide_device) Couldn't insert the link for some reason.
And here are the facts according to wiki.
Around my parts they are called cyanide guns. They are hell on coyotes. I use to drive through a 4000 acre ranch for my job that was worked by the government trapper. These guns were set right amongst the cows. I only saw one coyote that had made it further than twenty yards. In one season the trapper killed over 200 coyotes on that ranch. Let's see someone accomplish that with a gun or snare. There's were always signs at entrance and close to guns. Back to the shooting dogs discussion it's simple, keep your animals on your property. Next thing you know the cyanide guns will be called weapons of mass destruction.
According to this fact sheet from the USDA it is commonly set up within areas with cattle. It targets only canines. Keep in mind that March is when sheep are dropping their lambs and that coyotes kill more lambs than any other predator. I can't blame a rancher for wanting to kill coyotes, especially in March.
We've had the state trapper set a bunch on our farm to try to curb our coyote problem. They are very effective. The description in the article is laughable, the way he described them to us was a cyanide capsule set on a spring. When the coyote bites down on the scented sponge it shoots the capsule down its throat.
wish I could use them in Tn. but we do have bears so that rules them out Lewis
We use them on my lease. They work very well and there is plenty of signage on the property to let everyone know where the cyanide is. Just look for dead coyotes, the cyanide isn't too far away!
Can we use them in California? Bait with tofu maybe? :)
Cyanide "guns" were quite popular in parts of Texas when I was growing up. They can't explode, are not either, a bomb or a gun. Most I saw were partially buried and when set off, sent a cloud or spray of cyanide into the predator's face. A human, to be seriously hit, would have had to been on hands and knees. As I understand it, they were quite effective on both coyotes and skunks. I am sure their design has changed quite a bit since then.
My dad worked for the state of SD when I was growing up. He spent 35 years in predator control. They used them a lot. They would find the dens, throw them in and seal them up in many cases. Very effective, and he never told me of any instances where they killed anything but Coyotes. They pretty much killed coyotes every day for 35 years. Don't think it even dented the population. Just tried to keep them away from lambs and young calves.
Keep your dogs where they belong and it won't be a problem. Teach your kids to obey rules and hopefully they'll do so well enough t keep this from happening.
Coyotes are in the east because there is a ton of food here. No migration or, eradication has misplaced them here. No super nova sixth sense should be credited for their presence where ever they exist. No food, no coyote. That simple and aside from building buffet lines with their habits, pets, livestock, and land management practices, man has no responsibility for their presence anywhere.
I don't know what happened here. No one does really. But, I know they have been used very effectively for a longtime. And, have a lage role in controlling problem animls that prey on human interests. FWIW, i' wandered how long it was going to take for game depatments to use their head on the hogs. God Bless men
