Conservationists Seeking Ban on Lethal Wildlife Poisons

Conservationists Seeking Ban on Lethal Wildlife Poisons

November 2007 
 The federal government is 
considering banning two of the most deadly poisons used to kill wild 
mammals and is seeking public comment on the possible ban before December 
16. 
The poisons are sodium cyanide, used in M-44 ejectors, and sodium 
fluoroacetate, commonly called Compound 1080, a toxic used in "livestock 
protection collars" strapped onto the heads of sheep and goats. 
Both agents are classified by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA as 
having the highest degree of "acute toxicity." 
In a Federal Register notice published Friday, EPA is soliciting public 
comment on whether the pesticide registration for these two agents should 
be revoked, which would remove them from use. Comments are welcome through 
December 16. 
The Federal Register notice comes as a result of a petition filed earlier 
this year by a coalition of conservation and public health organizations 
coordinated by Sinapu and Public Employees for Environmental 
Responsibility, PEER, a national association of workers in natural 
resources agencies. 
Sinapu, based on Boulder, Colorado, is a nonprofit organization that works 
to restore and protect native wildlife such as wolves, mountain lions and 
bears in the American West. 
"While I am happy that EPA has acted on our petition, the threat to 
people, pets and wildlife will remain until these poisons are outlawed," 
said Wendy Keefover-Ring of Sinapu. 
Citing persistent reports of accidental poisonings of what Wildlife 
Services calls "non-target" animals, she said, "These toxicants are 
outmoded, dangerous and inhumane means of wildlife management." 
The poisons are distributed by Wildlife Services, an arm of the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, USDA, which used these two agents during 2006 
to kill an average of 1.6 animals every hour, the petitioners say. 

The USDA says the goal of the WS program is to manage the damage caused by 
wildlife, not to eradicate wildlife populations. "Upon request, WS 
wildlife professionals implement or recommend effective management methods 
to alleviate or minimize predation. WS employees strive to remove only the 
predators that are causing the damage." 
As EPA considers revoking their registration, legislation is being 
prepared in Congress to ban the two chemicals from production and use. 
That legislation is being spearheaded by Representative Peter DeFazio, an 
Oregon Democrat who introduced an earlier bill in 2005 for the same 
purpose. 
Each year, M-44s account for the deaths of some 13,000 mammalian 
carnivores, out of a total of more than 1.6 million birds, coyotes and 
other wildlife killed last year by Wildlife Services, at an annual cost to 
taxpayers of $108.6 million, the petitioners contend. 
Compound 1080, a colorless, odorless, tasteless, water soluble toxin, is 
classified as a chemical weapon by several countries for its potential 
threat to water supplies. 
Government audits have repeatedly faulted sloppy inventory control by 
Wildlife Services that could lead to theft or black market sales, the 
petitioners say. 
Wildlife Services' own records show that livestock protection collars go 
missing and that their poison-containing pouches can get punctured on 
sharp objects like brush, rocks, or barbed wire, creating what the 
petitioners call "an uncontrolled biohazard." 
The groups contend that relatively few livestock are killed by predators, 
making the use of these toxic agents "unwarranted." 
USDA figures show that in 2005, more than 20 times as many cattle were 
killed by weather, rustlers and other causes than by predators, which 
accounted for only 0.18 percent of losses. 
The USDA explains that the lethal control efforts of Wildlife Services 
personnel "typically remove less than 5 percent of a species' overall 
population. In many situations, the number of animals removed amounts to 
less than 1 percent of their total population. This amount is considerably 
less than the number of animals taken by hunters and trappers annually." 
"The USDA's extension service, APHIS' National Wildlife Research Center, 
and the federal government's General Accounting Office confirm that lethal 
controls used by Wildlife Services do not unduly threaten the well-being 
of statewide predator populations," the USDA argues. 
Still, two states - California and Oregon already have banned Compound 
1080 and it is explicitly allowed for use in only 11 states. 
The EPA had banned Compound 1080 nationally, but during the Reagan 
administration, the agency reversed itself and allowed re-introduction of 
the poison in livestock collars. 
The comments received to date are overwhelmingly in favor of a ban. One 
commenter wrote, "Livestock growers have access to more effective, 
non-lethal methods such as guard animals, sheds, pens, fences and 
electronic devices to protect livestock. Because these toxicants pose 
unreasonable hazards and risks, they should be banned as predator poisons 
in the United States." 
Veronica Egan, executive director of Great Old Broads for Wilderness, a 
national wilderness advocacy organization, commented, "The use of such 
indiscriminate poisons poses an unacceptable risk to both non-targeted 
species and to humans. Predators are a necessary part of any healthy 
ecosystem, and the attempt to eliminate them to protect livestock is 
misguided, dangerous, expensive and ineffective. Many alternatives to 
these poisons exist." 
Comments are welcome through December 16. Visit http://www.regulations.gov 
and enter Docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2007-0944 to submit a comment. 

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