BREAKING: Wildlife Groups Sue Trump Admin over USDA’s Poisoning of Endangered Species, Kids, Pets
(EnviroNews Nature) — Washington D.C. — On April 4, 2017, four wildlife and conservation groups filed suit against the Trump Administration in an effort to regulate lethal poisons used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services (WS). Wildlife Services uses the two poisons in question, Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide, in its wildlife-killing program, which took the lives of over 1.5 million native animals in 2016. The Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians, The Humane Society of the United States and The Fund for Animals are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to complete its risk-analysis of these toxins and for increased restrictions on their use.
According to a press release, with this suit, the animal-welfare groups seek “common-sense measures to prevent unintended deaths” from these pesticides. In 2016 alone, sodium cyanide, which is used in M-44 ground explosives or “cyanide bombs,” killed 13,530 animals. Many of the animals killed were coyotes and foxes and 321 were non-target animals, including opossums, skunks, a fisher, foxes, a black bear, raccoons and family dogs. Endangered animals including grizzly bears, Canada lynx and wolves are also at risk of setting off the easily-triggered ground weapons. The environmental groups offer an interactive map that illustrates the many non-target animals killed by the cyanide bombs between 2010 and 2016.
In 2017, M-44s recently killed an endangered wolf in Oregon and three domestic dogs in Idaho and Wyoming. A 14-year-old in Idaho whose dog was killed by an M-44 was temporarily blinded and hospitalized and is experiencing ongoing headaches after being exposed. On March 28, 2017, a coalition of green groups, including The Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians, petitioned WS and the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to ban M-44s throughout Idaho in response to this incident.
The other toxin referenced in the suit, Compound 1080, is used to fill poison livestock collars, which are placed on the necks of sheep and goats. They can be punctured by carnivores or any sharp object and can result in the death of livestock, carnivores and non-target species, including at-risk scavengers such as California condors and bald eagles.
“These are totally indiscriminate and unnecessary devices. They often hit non-target species or hit even potentially targeted species that are not responsible for livestock kills,” Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) told EnviroNews in a one-on-one exclusive. On March 30, 2017, he introduced the Chemical Poisons Reduction Act of 2017 (H.R. 1817), which seeks to ban these pesticides in predator control throughout the U.S.
The EPA registered sodium cyanide and Compound 1080 for use by WS and by state agencies in Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, New Mexico and Texas. The agency has yet to finish its analysis of how these toxic weapons affect endangered and threatened species, which it began in 2011. The lawsuit demands this process be completed and the plaintiffs explain in a press release, this “should lead to mitigation measures to protect imperiled wildlife.”
“Impacts of these pesticides on endangered wildlife have not been analyzed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 1993,” said Anna Frostic, senior wildlife attorney at The Humane Society of the United States. She said the groups are seeking the restriction of these poisons within imperiled animals’ habitats.
“The recent tragedies prove current restrictions are failing to ensure people, domestic animals and imperiled wildlife are not at risk from these dangerous and outdated tools,” said Bethany Cotton, Wildlife Program Director for WildEarth Guardians. “With the wide array of nonlethal, effective wildlife conflict management tools available, and the unacceptable threats these poisons pose, it is past time we end the use of cyanide M-44s and Compound 1080.”
OTHER ENVIRONEWS REPORTS ON CYANIDE BOMBS, COMPOUND 1080 AND WILDLIFE SERVICES
Rep. Peter DeFazio is out to Stop USDA’s Cruel Wolf and Coyote Poison Bombs for Good
(EnviroNews Oregon) – Washington D.C. – On March 30, 2017, Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced the Chemical Poisons Reduction Act of 2017 (H.R. 1817), which seeks to ban the use of two deadly poisons, Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide, for predator control efforts throughout the United States. These…
20 Environmental Groups Jointly Demand Wildlife Services Ban M-44 Cyanide Bombs in Idaho
(EnviroNews Idaho) – On March 28, 2017, a coalition of wildlife and conservation groups petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services (WS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to immediately ban M-44 devices in Idaho. M-44s are cyanide bombs used by WS to kill…
USDA’s ‘Cruel,’ ‘Illegal’ Cyanide Bombs for Wolves and Coyotes Killing Dogs, Hospitalizing Kids
(EnviroNews Headline News Desk) – Bannock County, Idaho – On March 16, 2017, 14-year-old Canyon Mansfield was playing fetch with his dog Kasey, in Bannock County, Idaho, when an M-44 cyanide bomb sprayed him and killed his dog. The lethal device was placed by the U.S. Department of…
Bill Allowing Slaughter of Alaskan Bear Cubs, Wolf Pups, Sails Through Senate to Trump’s Desk
(EnviroNews Alaska) – Washington D.C. – On March 21, 2017, in a 52-47 vote, the Senate passed House Joint Resolution 69 (HJR 69), a Congressional Review Act resolution to rescind the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Alaska National Wildlife Refuges Rule (Refuge Rule), which has been in…
Predator Bloodbath: ‘Secretive’ Federal Agency Wildlife Services Kills 1.6 Million Native Animals in 2016
(EnviroNews Nature) – Wildlife Services (WS), a little-known wildlife-killing program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), killed 2,744,010 animals in 2016, 1,594,595 of which were native to the U.S. The agency shared this death toll in its annual program data…
After a Century, ‘Landmark Settlement’ Puts Brakes on Federal Government’s ‘Rogue’ Wildlife-Killing Program
(EnviroNews Nature) – Missoula, Montana – Well, it only took a century, but it has happened at last: Something finally put the brakes on Wildlife Services (WS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) “secretive,” “rogue,” “cruel” wildlife-killing agency – and that “something” is the environmental non-profit organization WildEarth…
‘Secret’ Federal Agency Admits Killing 3.2 Million Wild Animals in U.S. Last Year Alone
(EnviroNews DC News Bureau) – Washington D.C. – The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services (WS) admitted in its annual Program Data Report to having killed at least 3.2 million wild animals in 2015 alone – many of which were large predators. 1,681,283 of that total…
Lions and Tigers and… Sage Grouse? Oh My! – The Granddaddy Endangered Species Battle of Them All
(EnviroNews Nature) – On March 3, 2017, EnviroNews Nature released one of the largest and most expansive documentaries ever published on a wildlife species in peril – the greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). The academic yet entertaining film spans a plethora of topics and includes intersecting interviews, viewpoints…
Wyoming Wolves Stripped of Endangered Species Act Protection – Shoot-on-Sight Policy Restored
(EnviroNews Wyoming) – Gray wolves (Canis lupus) will no longer be protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the state of Wyoming. That was the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, on March 3, 2017, which also happened to be…
Republicans Lick Chops While Revving Up To Dismantle The Endangered Species Act
(EnviroNews Nature) – Washington D.C. – On Feb. 15, 2017, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) held a hearing called, “Oversight: Modernization of the Endangered Species Act.” Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), Chairman of the EPW, held this two-hour hearing to explore “the need to modernize…
300 NGO and Environmental Orgs Demand via Joint Letter Ntl. Guvs Assoc. Protect Endangered Species Act
(EnviroNews Headline News Desk) – Washington D.C. – On Feb. 23, 2017, a coalition of almost 300 NGO, environment, conservation and social justice groups concerned with the now uncertain future of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) sent a letter to the National Governors Association (NGA). The letter was…
WildEarth Guardians Sues Colorado over Plan to Kill Black Bears, Mountain Lions
(EnviroNews Nature) – Denver, Colorado – The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department (CPW), the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission (Commission) and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources are being sued by WildEarth Guardians (WEG) for their December approval of two predator-killing programs. Through the Piceance Basin Predator Management…
Report: 86% of North America’s Bird Species Struggling or in Crisis – 33% Facing Extinction
(EnviroNews Nature) – One in three North American bird species are of “high concern” to conservationists with an additional 50% struggling badly, according to the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI). The group’s annual report The State of North America’s Birds 2016 makes for grim reading by suggesting…
POLL CLOSED: Should USDA’s Secretive Wildlife Killing Program Be Abolished? Yes/No – VIEW RESULTS
(EnviroNews Polls) – 3.2 million animals. That is the amount of critters and creatures brutally eradicated by Wildlife Services (WS) in America last year alone, by way of traps, snares, bullets and poisons – all with your tax dollars of course (at least if you are a U.S….
Five Environmental Groups Sue USDA Over Idaho Wolf-Killing Program
(EnviroNews Idaho) – Boise, Idaho – On June 1, 2016, five prominent environmental organizations filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services for killing over 650 wolves in the state of Idaho over the past decade. Wildlife Services is…
Federal Government Sued For Killing Wolves in Oregon
(EnviroNews Oregon) – Five environmental groups filed a lawsuit on February 3, 2016, in U.S. District Court against the federal agency Wildlife Services, over what they say is the illegitimate killing of wolves in the state of Oregon. WildEarth Guardians, Center for Biological Diversity, Predator Defense, and Project…
Federal Judge Orders Stop to Canadian Lynx Trapping in Idaho
(EnviroNews Idaho) – Boise, Idaho – A federal judge has ordered a stop to the haphazard trapping of Canadian Lynx in Idaho. Lynx canadensis, as it is scientifically known, is one of the rarest cats in the United States and has been captured multiple times in Idaho over…
Feds Attempting to Strip Yellowstone Grizzly Bear of Endangered Species Act Protection
(EnviroNews Wyoming) – Missoula, Montana – In a move that has angered environmentalists and wildlife enthusiasts, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed on March 3, 2016, to strip the iconic Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) grizzly bear of its protected status under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),…
Poll Closed: Should U.S. Government Maintain a Wolf-Killing Program? Yes or No? – View Results
(EnviroNews Polls) – In December of 2015, several environmental groups, spearheaded by WildEarth Guardians, won a pivotal lawsuit against Wildlife Services, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agency, for its wolf-killing program in Washington State. On February 3, 2016, WildEarth Guardians, in concert with four other groups, filed…
No Endangered Species Act Protection for Sonoran Desert Tortoise, Interior Announces
(EnviroNews Arizona) – Washington D.C. – The Morafka’s, or Sonoran desert tortoise, or Gopherus morafkai as it is scientifically known, is a slow moving, yet ancient creature that gets its water from eating native plants while spending most of its time in underground insulated burrows that it digs…
POLL: Should Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Be Delisted, Hunted and Killed? Yes/No? (Feds Say Yes)
(EnviroNews Polls) – On March 3, 2016, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposed a new rule that would delist the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) grizzly bear, and advocate the hunting and elimination of at least 200 of the region’s approximately 715 specimens. The move fueled…
Will Redrawing Core Sage Grouse Areas in Wyoming Help Save the Bird From Extinction?
(EnviroNews Wyoming) – Douglas, Wyoming – In late April a gloomy report was issued by Pew Charitable Trusts that claims there is a 98.7 percent chance greater sage grouse will go extinct in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin in 30 years if the current course continues. The Powder River…
Dept. of Interior: No Protection for Greater Sage Grouse Under Endangered Species Act
(EnviroNews DC News Bureau) – Commerce City, Colorado – On the morning of Tuesday August 22, 2015, Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Sally Jewell announced that Centrocercus urophasianus, a.k.a. greater sage grouse, will not receive protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). A decision by U.S. Fish…
ALERT: GOP Attempting to Kill Environmental Regs Across The Board With Sneaky Budget Riders
(EnviroNews World News) – Washington, DC – It seems like we, at EnviroNews, have been reporting on this type of thing all year. That is, sketchy environmental riders being attached to totally unrelated appropriations bills in backdoor efforts to kill environmental and wildlife protections. Yes, this year’s spending…
Obama Administration Comes Out Against NDAA Sage Grouse Rider
(EnviroNews DC News Bureau) – Washington DC – In a surprising environmentally-friendly move today following the Department of the Interior’s green light for Shell Oil Company’s arctic drilling ambitions yesterday, the Obama Administration came out against a controversial rider in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that…
Sec. Sally Jewell Announces DOI Will Not List Bi-State Sage Grouse as Endangered
(EnviroNews Nevada) – Reno, Nevada – To the dismay and disappointment of environmentalists, conservationists and biologist alike, Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Sally Jewell announced on April 21, 2015 (which also happened to be Earth Day) that the bi-state sage grouse will not be making its way…
WA State Stops Bloodshed After Massacring Profanity Peak Wolf Pack To Appease Cattle Ranchers
(EnviroNews Washington) – Olympia, Washington – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced October 19, 2016, that it would spare the remaining four members of the now demolished Profanity Peak Wolf Pack, after already having killed seven of its wolves (Canis lupus) to appease cattle ranchers….
WildEarth Guardians: DOI’s Bi-State Sage Grouse ‘Conservation Success’ Is ‘Window Dressing’
(EnviroNews Wyoming) – Douglas, Wyoming – On April 21, 2015 Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) Sally Jewell appeared in Reno, Nevada to make a pivotal Bi-State Sage Grouse Announcement: No protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the bi-state distinct population of the greater…
FILM AND ARTICLE CREDITS
- Julia Travers - Journalist, Author
experience
