The term “M-44” sounds innocuous — almost like the name of a rural highway — but the reality is far more sinister.
M-44s are actually small, lethal devices used on farms and similar sites to kill so-called “pest” animals such as coyotes and foxes. The devices — a favored tool of a U.S. Department of Agriculture program called Wildlife Services — lure animals in with the smell of tasty bait, then inject a deadly dose of sodium cyanide directly into their mouths.
Technically known as “cyanide injector devices,” M-44s have earned the more lurid nickname: “cyanide bombs.”
Recent studies have shown that lethal control of predators actually tends to increase livestock deaths, but Wildlife Services continues to use outdated science — and animals die as a result.
It’s not just coyotes that are killed by M-44s. Since 2010, 14,431 animals have been killed each year on average by these poison bombs.
M-44s are typically stuck in the ground out in the wild where anything — or anyone — might find them, making them indiscriminate killers.
Wildlife isn’t alone, though. M-44s have been blamed for the deaths of numerous pet dogs, and even injured a child in 2017 after he touched what he said looked like “a sprinkler sticking out of the ground.”
With intentional and accidental deaths stacking up, many conservation organizations — including the Center for Biological Diversity, publishers of The Revelator — have called for and even sued to stop Wildlife Services from employing M-44s. As of this writing, however, their use continues.
- References: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service – Program Data Report
- Image credits: Coyote by USFWS Pacific Southwest Region; Coyote portrait by Jean-Guy Dallaire/Flickr CC BY-NC 3.0; Gray fox by lonewolv/Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0; Swift fox by Cburnett/Wikimedia CC BY-SA 3.0; Golden Eagle by Tom Koerner/USFWS; Ringtail by National Park Service; Bald eagle by USFWSmidwest; Collared Peccary by Nilfanion/Wikimedia CCY BY 3.0; Bobcat by Jitze Couperus/Flickr CC BY 2.0; Striped Skunk by animalphotos/DeviantArt CC BY-NC 3.0; Fisher by ForestWander/Wikimedia CC BY-SA 3.0; Marmot by Inklein/Wikimedia CC BY-SA 3.0; Raven by Ingrid Taylar/Flickr CC BY 2.0; Black Bear by Ryan Poplin/Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0
Editor’s Note: The day after publication of this story, several conservation groups, including The Revelator‘s publisher, the Center for Biological Diversity, petitioned the EPA to ban the use of M-44 cyanide bombs.
Wildlife Services is nothing but a bunch of murderous psychopaths operating at the behest of agribusiness and, to a lesser extent, hunters. This evil agency needs to be disbanded.
This is unbelievable and 100% abhorrent. What kind of disgusting individuals could have possibly thought up such a brutal murder machine!! What in god’s name is WRONG with the idiot men running the world?????
What I do to help stop this?
We need to email all our government officials sign every petition try to ban together and PLAY that the insanity stops
How stupid. Another federal agency paid for by our taxes.
What? Are they Insane? Isn’t there enough posion going around now on EVERYTHING? Wake the heck up people. This is a horrible death in 2017 this is the best you can Do? Your are being poisoned by the Wheat, Soy and other things do the research. GMO must go pesticides and posion must go
And the Trump team is probably increasing use of this awful device.
I have already seen this on my local news and they are still using them. I learned a long time ago that FWS are government workers and they kill everything. Department of Agricultural they won’t do anything about it, we are on our own. Trump doesn’t probably know about this. I don’t know what can be done. I’m still fighting with the delisting of The Mexican Gray Wolves. If anyone has ideas bring them to the table.. We have even had a dog killed in Colorado because of that and I don’t think they cared honestly…
A clarification: USDA’s Wildlife Services is a completely different organization than the US Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS).
I meant to write we had a dog killed by that m-44
This is part of the war on wildlife fuelled by ranchers, hunters, trappers, resource exploiters, USFW, BLM and Wildlife Services. Their hatred, persecution, poisoning and slaughter of nonhuman predators is not only decimating families/packs/populations and endangering species, but also leaving untold non-target casualties. The callous brutalities committed by these eco-terrorists/murderers need to be recognized and addressed as extreme violence and sociopathy. We need to STOP the exploitation, oppression, violence and massacres on the basis of species.