Wednesday

A 14-year-old boy named Canyon Mansfield was walking his loyal dog Casey near his home in Idaho when the pooch was unexpectedly killed, leaving the whole family heartbroken.

It happened when the teenager noticed something sticking half a foot out of the ground in the woods. As soon as Mansfield touched it, he heard something pop and “siss”. Then, orange powder shot out, making Mansfield jumped back in shock. The next thing he knew, Casey the dog was lying on the ground and he could see something was terribly wrong with him…

“[I] saw this red froth coming from his mouth and his eyes turning glassy,” said the boy. As it turned out, the dog was killed by an M44, a US Government approved cyanide trap that is aimed to kill coyotes. It is known that only between 2006 and 2012, over 3,400 animals were mistakenly killed by M44s – and most people are not even aware of the existence of these devices.

“My son Canyon, who witnessed it all, is really struggling with what happened,” Theresa Mansfield, the boy’s mom, told Idaho State Journal. “It was above our house. It makes me not feel safe. I feel like I had terrorism in my own backyard, with my own government.”

Known as M-44 devices, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) division of the USDA deploys these sodium cyanide capsules throughout the West to protect livestock from coyotes, wild dogs, and red and gray foxes.

M-44s are hollow metal tubes 5 to 7 inches long that are driven into the ground, loaded with 0.9 grams of sodium cyanide and coated with the smelliest bait possible.


Though the devices are legal methods of controlling local predators, the legality regarding the manner in which the device that killed Casey was planted remains under investigation.

As soon as Mansfield touched it, he heard something pop and orange powder shot out

On Friday, APHIS released the following statement regarding the incident:

“APHIS’ Wildlife Services confirms the unintentional lethal take of a dog in Idaho. As a program made up of individual employees many of whom are pet owners, Wildlife Services understands the close bonds between people and their pets and sincerely regrets such losses. Wildlife Services has removed M-44s in that immediate area. Wildlife Services is completing a thorough review of the circumstances of this incident, and will work to review our operating procedures to determine whether improvements can be made to reduce the likelihood of similar occurrences happening in the future.”
Source

Responses to "Idaho uses cyanide bombs to kill wolves but it also kills pets and other wildlife too"

  1. Anonymous says:

    That is pure evil and should not be legal or allowed.

  2. Anonymous says:

    This is disgusting. Typical of what we hear coming out of Idaho and the Pacific Northwest. Measures like these are dangerous to all forms of life and not consistent with humane values. Wildlife Services needs to be managed by people who respect all forms of life.

  3. Anonymous says:

    They are doing it the world over.... Killing animals because the govt has an opinion and the fall out and consequences never justifiably examined. Murdering Arsehole, pure and simple. Why kill these animals... who made humans better than the animals, no one in fact if any living creature ought to to destroyed it is the egotistical section of the human race that has no respect for life, sentient beings and the planet we live on. Most only see $$$$$. Coyotes wolves, dingoes, foxes are only a problem because of the imported exotics of cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens which is incorrectly needed for the human race to eat...

  4. Unknown says:

    It could have been a child that was killed by one of these thing. I'm scared to take my own family hiking again.

  5. Anonymous says:

    These indescriminate death traps are despicable. Why can't government people leave nature and wildlife alone unless there is a problem that needs to be specifically addressed with the animal(s) involved? No it's just easier to plant these death traps around in wild areas so kill everything - this boy could have died close to his home. The response from Fish/Game/Wildlife sounds nice but it's pure BS, they're just trying to make it sound like they care but they truly don't. If they cared they would know where they left all their death traps and remove them but they don't know where they are.

  6. Unknown says:

    It is a "FELONY" in the United States Of America to commit "Cruelty To Animals" weather it's a domestic animal or a wild animal. US Government You Are Not GOD, You Are NOT Above The LAW!! You are killing Scum Bags!!

  7. Its inhumane to kill a predator like this not to mention a domestic animal or human being!

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