Pfluger Pushes to Lift Ban on M-44 Cyanide Bombs

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) and Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) led a bicameral letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) demanding the agency roll back its ban on purchasing or deploying M-44 sodium cyanide ejector devices. 

M-44 devices are used by farmers and ranchers, mainly sheep and goat producers, for predator control. Information states that these devices are a "valuable management tool" and protect herds from coyotes, foxes, and feral dogs. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has continuously approved the use of these safe and effective devices by state agencies in the past. 

The agency included language prohibiting the use of M-44 devices by third parties in the USDA’s Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Package signed into law earlier this year.

“American ranchers are the foundation of our food and economic security, and we must promote policies that protect their viability," the members wrote. “It is estimated that if Texas and Wyoming ranchers could better control predation, it could result in over $100 million in farm gate sales. In Wyoming alone, predator losses amounted to 47.3 percent of all sheep and lamb deaths. The continued production of M-44 devices is well within the law and is important to ensure ranchers have access to this safe and effective predation tool.”

Information from the Center for Biological Diversity states that M-44s, or “cyanide bombs,” are one of the most "horrifying methods" used for its "indiscriminate killing."

"These inhumane traps spray sodium cyanide into the faces of unsuspecting wildlife lured by a sweet, scented bait," the information stated. "Any creature — or person — who pulls on the baited trigger can suffer tortuous poisoning followed by a slow, agonizing death or severe injury."

Co-signers of this letter include U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and U.S. Representatives Jake Ellzey (R-Texas), Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), Chip Roy (R-Texas), and Dusty Johnson (R-South Dakota). 

The full text of the letter can be found here.