Veterinary Support Needed to Help Ban Inhumane Poisons Used to Kill Wildlife- Posted February 2008
Dear Veterinary Professional: Please help ban the use of cruel, deadly poisons used to kill wildlife. These poisons also kill pets and endanger the lives of humans. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently evaluating and seeking public comments on the use of M-44 sodium cyanide capsules and sodium fluoroacetate, also known as Compound 1080, by a federal agency to kill wild animals in predator control activities. These two highly toxic poisons are used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services agency to kill bears, coyotes, foxes, eagles, and many other wild animals. Endangered gray wolves and threatened grizzly bears, as well as hundreds of pet dogs, have been killed with these deadly toxins. Details on these highly toxic substances are provided below. WHAT YOU CAN DO 1. Please write to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging it to prohibit the use of sodium cyanide and Compound 1080 to kill wildlife. (See “Take action” below on how to write to the EPA, including a sample letter.) The comment deadline is March 5. 2. If you are a veterinarian and a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), please also consider signing on to a letter from vets across the country to the AVMA urging the association to oppose the use of inhumane predator poisons. The AVMA plans on submitting comments and is currently evaluating whether to support the use of sodium cyanide. (See “Take action” below on signing the letter.) The AVMA works closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which houses Wildlife Services. The veterinary organization endorses USDA-APHIS as the leader in farmed animal health, and its Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents has reviewed, and supports, EPA policy on special pesticide formulations. Thus, there is a real possibility the AVMA will support continued use of at least M-44 sodium cyanide capsules. Urge the AVMA to oppose the use of these deadly poisons that are responsible for the cruel deaths of hundreds of pets each year. THE RISKS OF M-44 SODIUM CYANIDE AND COMPOUND 1080 M-44s are spring-loaded devices topped with bait lures. When an animal tugs on the bait, a spring shoots a pellet of sodium cyanide into the animal’s mouth, killing it in typically less than two minutes. As an indiscriminate mechanism, M-44s kill badgers, bears, bobcats, coyotes, foxes and dogs. Many birds are killed but are under-reported because they leave the vicinity of the poison before dying. M-44s have also killed California condors, grizzly bears, and wolves protected under the Endangered Species Act. Sodium fluoroacetate, known as Compound 1080, is a toxicant used in “livestock protection collars” strapped onto the heads of sheep and goats. These collars are prone to problems, as they are easily punctured by vegetation, fences, and rocks, and their success rate at preventing predation is low. Death by Compound 1080 is literally torture; the chemical takes 3-15 very painful hours to kill. USDA’s Wildlife Services kills more than 1,500,000 animals each year, including 200,000 mammals and 117,000 carnivores in 2006 – at a taxpayer cost of more than $1,000,000 each year. Most killings are intentional; thousands are incidental killings of non-target wildlife such as bears, wolves, bobcats and hawks. More than 100 pet dogs were accidentally killed in 2006 alone. In 2006, one person was injured and two dogs were killed in Utah by sodium cyanide exposure from an M-44 device set by Wildlife Services. Sam Pollock was secondarily poisoned when he held his dog, Jenna, in his arms as she violently died after accidentally setting off an M-44. Sharyn Aguiar lost her German shepherd while working in a rock quarry. Unfortunately, these are just two of many similar tragic incidents that occur on public lands each year. Both sodium cyanide and Compound 1080 are biological warfare agents and classified by the EPA as Category 1 toxicants – the highest, most dangerous level of acute toxicity. Both have been listed as “super poisons” by the FBI and cited as lethal toxins likely to be used by terrorists. The amount of Compound 1080 in one livestock protection collar can kill up to six 150-pound people. Compound 1080 is so deadly it has been outlawed in two states, is used in only 11 states, and is banned in many other countries. It is indefensible that taxpayer dollars continue to fund the use of poisons to kill wildlife. Using poisons to kill wild animals is archaic, inhumane, and unjustifiable. Predators kill a tiny fraction of the nation’s livestock; they caused only 0.18% of all U.S. cattle losses in 2005 and 3% of sheep losses in 2004. Illness or disease, birthing complications, and weather each cause more cattle and sheep deaths than predators. And non-lethal means of deterring predation have been found to be effective and are more sustainable and economically justifiable. For instance, in Oregon, a sheep producer nearly eliminated coyote predation in her pasture flock of 50 ewes by adding one flock guard dog. In 6 years of using the dog, she lost only one lamb to coyotes. There are several other non-lethal deterrence methods that have proven to be effective in protecting livestock. M-44s and Compound 1080 are not even necessary to Wildlife Service’s mission of killing animals – they are used in only small percentage of predator control activities – yet they kill hundreds of non-target wild animals and pets every year. They have no place in wildlife management and their use should not be permitted on public or private lands. TAKE ACTION: 1. Sign on to the letter from vets to the AVMA urging the AVMA to oppose use of M-44s and Compound 1080. Contact Stephanie Boyles of the Humane Society of the United States at sboyles@hsus.org or 240-252-9790 to be included in the list of signatories by February 26. 2. Send a comment letter to the EPA by March 5, 2008. There are two ways to comment:
If you have questions or concerns, please contact: Stephanie L. Boyles, M.S. SAMPLE COMMENT LETTER (personalizing it and/or adding information will help): I urge the EPA to ban the registration and use of M-44s (sodium cynanide) and Compound 1080 (sodium fluoroacetate). These deadly toxins have no place in wildlife management. Both these chemicals pose unreasonable and unjustified risks to people, pets, and wildlife, including endangered species such as wolves and grizzlies. In addition to unnecessary targeted killing, the poisons cause incidental deaths in non-target wildlife species. Hundreds of dogs have been killed, and people have been exposed to these harmful substances via pets and carcasses. Moreover, despite the risk of bioterrorism, Wildlife Services has failed to accurately account for stockpiles of these toxins in recent years. Livestock producers have access to safe and more effective non-lethal alternatives to protect their livestock. Animal husbandry techniques such as the use of guard animals, fladry, night shelter, and the concentration of animals have been shown to be effective. Wildlife managers also have more effective and humane as well as safer management techniques to protect wildlife. The use of these poisons is unnecessary. Both these toxicants pose great hazard and no benefit to the environment and to people. Please ban the use of these deadly poisons. . ### . |
