To Whom it May Concern:

Please ban the lethal predator poisons sodium cyanide and Compound 1080.

Sodium cyanide and Compound 1080 are biological warfare agents. Roughly 1.6 animals are killed with these potent toxins every hour.

I understand either Category 1 toxicant, when inserted in a single livestock “protection collar,” could kill two to six 150-pound humans. I join the many conservation and health organizations that call for a permanent ban on these deadly substances. Sodium cyanide and Compound 1080 imperil wildlife (including endangered species), humans, and companion animals.

Compound 1080 Livestock Protection Collars are so toxic scavenger species are poisoned when they consume the head or neck of dead, collared sheep. Target animals suffer a gruesome death that may last from 3 to 15 hours. Moreover, the precarious collars are easily lost or perforated by trees, cacti, fences or rocks.

Sodium Cyanide M-44s — spring-loaded mechanisms affixed with bait — lure badgers, bears, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, dogs, wolves, opossums, marmots, raccoons, ravens, ringtails, skunks and other animals. Once they tug on the bait, a pellet spurts into their mouth and transforms into cyanide gas quickly absorbed into their lungs.

There is no tally of non-target avian deaths from M-44s, since birds can swiftly flee the area before death occurs within two minutes. EPA records indicate five Wildlife Services employees and at least five citizens have been unintentionally exposed to sodium cyanide from triggering devices or contact with contaminated pets.

Livestock operators can safeguard their animals with non-violent means such as guard animals, sheds, pens, fencing, and electronic deterrents. Potential hazards related to Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide significantly offset any perceived benefits. Both should be outlawed as predator poisons.