A few years ago, the federal government killed a beloved family dog, Kasey, and nearly killed the little boy, named Canyon, who was walking him on public land. How? Through a M-44 device, known as a cyanide bomb, left behind by the federal government. Canyon’s dog was not the first to be killed by M-44s, but a bill, aptly named Canyon’s Law, could make this dog one of the last household pets big government kills with cyanide.
Canyon’s Law, recently re-introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, would ban the government’s use of M-44 cyanide bombs on public lands. M-44 devices are spring-loaded and, when triggered, spray sodium cyanide. When the cyanide mixes with moisture, such as saliva, it creates a deadly vapor that fills the lungs and leads to foaming of the mouth, convulsions, paralysis, and a long, slow, painful death. These devices are cruel and indiscriminate, yet are still widely used by Wildlife Services, a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
Wildlife Services kills an estimated two million animals every year. While the division claims to focus on predator management, all animals appear to be fair game for the federal agents who carry out the work. For example, in 2023, Wildlife Services’ agents killed nearly 25,000 beavers, 658 river otters, and 428 turtles. They also killed 443 cats and 73 dogs that year.
Pets such as domesticated cats and dogs are not targeted species for Wildlife Services. Still, they are treated as the inevitable ‘collateral damage’ of a division that exists just to slaughter animals on the taxpayer’s dime. A household pet can set off a cyanide bomb just as easily as a wild animal could.
“No one should have to experience what my family and I went through with the death of our dog and the near death of our son,” said Dr. Mark Mansfield, Canyon’s father. “Cyanide has no place being used anywhere in the U.S. as a pesticide or ‘lethal control’ weapon, such as an M-44 ‘cyanide bomb.’ All Americans can and should get behind this simple, common-sense law, ‘Canyon’s Law’.”
Dr. Mansfield is right. There is no reason why the federal government should still be placing cyanide bombs on public land. These are, in the simplest sense, brutal weapons of war that are being hidden where any animal or person could reach them. The risk to life—both animal and human—is far too great. After all, cyanide did not just kill Canyon’s dog—it almost killed Canyon, too.
On top of the risk to pets and people, M-44 devices are ineffective means of predator management. The Animal Legal Defense Fund reviewed data reports published by Wildlife Services between 2018 and 2023. These reports revealed that at least 1,200 wild animals were unintentionally killed by cyanide bombs placed by the government. These animals included raccoons, Virginia opossums, ravens, skunks, and more. These numbers do not point to careful targeting of an individual problem predator.
For a program that protects its taxpayer funding by arguing that the federal government should have a role in predator management, these figures signal reckless behavior at best and outright animal cruelty at worst. The carelessness and waste coming out of Wildlife Services proves a need for radical reform, and taking away the agency’s ability to poison animals with cyanide is a great start.
In 2020, the USDA settled a lawsuit from the Mansfield family by paying out more than $38,000, signaling the agency’s negligence that caused Kasey’s horrifying death and Canyon’s ongoing health problems. The money, while something, does nothing to fix the fact that a young boy had to watch his best friend die a painful, unexpected death. It also does not fix the fact that M-44 devices are still waiting to cause more damage on public land.
No child deserves to have the federal government poison their pet. No government agency should get away with accidentally poisoning thousands of animals. Canyon’s Law would keep big government from misusing cyanide bombs and protect our pets. That is reform we should all be able to get behind.