I
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4951
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 6, 2021
Mr. DeFazio introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To prohibit the use of M–44 devices, commonly known as cyanide bombs
, on public land, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as Canyon’s Law
.
Findings
Congress finds the following:
Sodium cyanide is the highly toxic pesticide active ingredient used in M–44 devices, also known as cyanide bombs
, and is used to kill wolves, coyotes, foxes, and wild dogs suspected of preying on livestock and poultry.
Sodium cyanide is registered for restricted use under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.) as a Category One acute toxicant, the most hazardous Environmental Protection Agency classification available, due to the harm it poses to people and the environment.
Poisoning by sodium cyanide leads to central nervous system depression, cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, paralysis, and blindness.
The Environmental Protection Agency authorizes the use of M–44 devices nationwide, and in recent years, M–44s were used in Colorado, Idaho, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
In 2017, an M–44 device exposed an Idaho child to a sublethal dose of sodium cyanide with subsequent short-term and long-term medical complications. Two Wyoming children were also exposed to the poison from another M–44 device. Three family dogs died in these two separate incidents.
The indiscriminate M–44 device commonly harms nontarget wildlife and people; at least 42 people have accidentally triggered a cyanide bomb causing exposure to cyanide gas and injuries since 1984.
M–44 devices kill targeted animals only 53 percent of the time. Thousands of nontarget species of animals have been killed by M–44s, including bald eagles, golden eagles, gray wolves, black bears, grizzly bears, bobcats, fishers, and family dogs.
Despite the United States Fish and Wildlife Service determining in 1993 that M–44 devices could kill endangered species like the California Condor, the use of the M–44 continues in areas where endangered species are found and continues to result in the deaths of endangered species.
Use of M–44 devices on public land prohibited
In general
Preparing, placing, installing, setting, deploying, or otherwise using an M–44 device on public land is prohibited.
Removal
Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, any Federal, State, or county agency that has prepared, placed, installed, set, or deployed an M–44 device on public land shall remove each such M–44 device from public land.
Definitions
In this Act:
M–44 device
In general
The term M–44 device means a device designed to propel sodium cyanide when triggered by an animal.
Common names
The term M–44 device includes any device that may be commonly known as an M–44 ejector device
or an M–44 predator control device
.
Public land
The term public land means any Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of a public land management agency.
Public land management agency
The term public land management agency means each of, or a combination of, the following:
The National Park Service.
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Bureau of Land Management.
The Bureau of Reclamation.
The Forest Service.